Last night Buffalo's best math-rock duo, All of Them Witches, released a new EP on bandcamp titled Future Notes. The three-song tease summarizes AOTW in a nutshell: proggy, complicated, unpredictable rhythms and measures that bring the listener on a roller coaster of tension, abrupt stops, and release. Check out "Darker Matter" below.

Tonight, we've got an interesting split at Buffalo Iron Works: local math-rockers All of Them Witches and The Papers, an indie-folk trio from Chicago. If you haven't heard The Papers, they sing some lovely folk tunes with lush male/female vocal pairings. There's a hint of Broken Social Scene in their Care Less EP, partly because of the way the male/female vocals play out, and partly because of the way the songs start simple and build into dramatic, textured climaxes. It's not easy to build this kind of momentum without losing the sense of intimacy that this kind of music requires, and I'd definitely recommend checking out the album on bandcamp and picking up a copy at the show if it suits your fancy.

If The Papers will melt your heart, then All of Them Witches will melt your face. The duo plays progressive, stop-start math rock that will have you moving long before you can figure out exactly how to count out the beat. It's an interesting pairing, but I think it will be a solid one: All of Them Witches can wind you up, and The Papers can wind you back down.

If you're wondering what The Papers are doing so far from Chicago, here's a clue: recently-returned Buffalo native Matt Script is in the band. We named Script one of our five (or six) acts to watch in 2014 earlier this year, and his solo release, Room For Error, is definitely worth checking out.

Doors open at Buffalo Iron Works at 8 pm, with music starting at 9. Five dollars at the door. Facebook event here for more details.

Tonight, following a holiday event celebrating all of the great local businesses on Grant Street, head down the block to the Gypsy Parlor for noise band, Guerrilla Toss with support from a definite cavalcade of great local acts.

Guerrilla Toss is a Boston-based post-punk act, layering yelping vocals atop complex polyrhythms and harsh distortion. And, for good measure, the rhythmic yelping is often cut through by explosions of noise and chaos. This music is punishing in the best way. You can hear their most recent album streaming here.

While not as cacaphonous as Guerrilla Toss, Blanche Blanche Blanche is still just as chaotic. Combining synth and frenetic vocals, the group can be best described as the sonic equivalent of living as a pinball.

Rounding out the lineup locally is the extremely dexterous All of Them Witches, who have built a reputation over the years for almost superhuman feats of hand eye coordination (seriously, I once saw the guitarist play a guitar and a bass at the same time and I am pretty sure he did better at both then two musicians playing them individually). Finally, a serious contender for best band name, Fleshy Mounds will also be playing and they sound like a band named Fleshy Mounds would be expected to sound (and I mean that in the best way).

Guerrilla Toss w/All of Them Witches, Blanche Blanche Blanche, and Fleshy Mounds.
The Gypsy Parlor (376 Grant Street)
First band at 10pm
$5

Having existed in some form since the year 2000, there's a solid chance you or someone you know is a fan of Philadelphia punk rock troupe Mischief Brew. You should thusly find yourself incredibly excited for their appearance at the Sugar Vault Game Room tonight at 7pm with the Buffalo math-rock duo All of Them Witches and "pissed off punk band" Bad People. They'll probably bang on metal and stuff. There may even be a vibraharp.

Tonight, the Massachusetts based math rock duo GIRAFFES? GIRAFFES! will be kicking off their July tour at the Ninth Ward. The pair have been playing together since 2001, having released 4 LPs (Superbass!!!, More Skin With Milk-Mouth, Live In Toronto, and Pink Magick). Their live performances have been have been described as flawless, "gallivanting from sweltering taps and fills to slow, visceral melodies, and back." Categorizing them to be purely math-rock rock would be unfair as they experiment with other instrumental genres such as post-rock and progressive rock. Giraffes? Giraffes! most recent album, Pink Magick (2011), is harsh, abrasive, melodic, and lush at once. Local math-rock heroes, All of Them Witches, and not-so-categorizable Boston indie-rockers Perhaps will be accompanying them tonight. Altogether, it sounds like  the Ninth Ward is going to be sonically set aflame the best kind of way with some blistering, rhythmically attuned, freakazoid music.

Doors open at 9PM and admission is $12. See ya there.

As you probably know, Thursday at Canalside begins it's season this evening with a performance from the Hold Steady. I am sure if will be a wonderful show, even if it is a litte soggy. If you are still want to keep that music kick going long into the night, head over to Nietzsche's for the (un)official Hold Steady after show starting at 10pm. The club features a very formidable triple bill including the whiskey soaked, grunge torch bearers Merchants, the frantic math rock duo of All of Them Witches, and the jagged, early Modest Mouse sounds of Drone Wars. That is a pretty solid local bill if I don't say. $5 is all it will take to get in, so make sure to make a pit stop on your way back from the harbor and get in on the fun.

Fans of atonal noise and anything avant-garde will get a kick out of this one.  No, but seriously, the anti-harmonists in You You Dark Forest will be hitting the Turnaround with support from Buffalo's finest pop-scorning artists.  This includes sludge/crust band Backbiter and the ever brutal Young Suns.  Rounding out the lineup will be a set from The Patterns.

Tonight marks the kickoff of the new production company, FOUNDRY, with a night of music at Soundlab, Buffalo's favorite basement sound cave. FOUNDRY, founded by Kitchen Distribution runner Frank Napolski and Adrian Bertolone of Ay Fast, is focused on artist installations and performances. Looking at the lineup of their launch party, I'd say they're off to great start. From the hypnotic synth looping of Quicksails to the ferocious syncopation of All Of Them Witches, there is something for everyone on tonight's bill. Also look for sets from Tropical Me and Frank Napolski himself with Patrick Cain. Doors are at 8.

Brooklyn folkies, Bird Courage, continue their Slow Train Tour tonight at Soundlab where they will bring their Paul Simon meets Fleet Foxes style of Americana. The story of the duo is pretty rad. Erik Meier and Samuel Saffery originally competed for spots in the NYC subway and eventually decided on becoming a band. They released their self-titled debut in 2011 and are now touring behind their sophomore record A Promising Flee which came out last year. There’s also a ton of equally awesome openers with locals All of the Witches, Brooklyn singer/songwriter Bill Bartholomew, and NYC indie rockers Streets of Laredo. You couldn’t ask for a better Saturday night of folk-rock jams. Doors at 9. Admission is $7.

#8.  Canary Girls - "Laser Prom"

One of the blog's favorite new bands of the year, Canary Girls' debut album, Everything is Changing, gave Buffalo a much welcome shot of nostalgia (think M83's John Hughes lovin Saturdays=Youth), and no more so than in the electro pop ballad "Laser Prom."  Led by front man Bill Eager's soaring vocals and heavy synths, the tune was tailor made for one of those couples-only, hand in hand skates at the local roller rink on a Saturday night.  Despite the clear 80's influences, the song gives off a timeless feeling, turning "1982" into a state of mind.




#7.  Space Wolves - "All the Talk"

This lo fi two piece came out of nowhere this fall, releasing two stellar albums of jangle pop, Space Wolves and Space Wolves II, within a month of each other.  On the more fully fleshed out II, "All the Talk" immediately grabbed our attention.  Sounding like a perfect little slice of 90's college rock, the Pavement esque number featured the duo's laid back vocals, a crunchy opening riff,  and swirling melodies.  The pair should easily be able to carry this momentum in 2013 with another album in the works and the (hopeful) live performance debut.





#6. Damian - "Soul Night" 

Damian's title track off the full-length album Soul Night, another one of Steak and Cake's great releases in 2012, is an ode to The Elmwood Lounge's bi-monthly retro soul night. Call it mumblecore or just plain indie rock, Damian's "Soul Night" holds a special place for anyone that has had a blast dancing carefree to carefully selected Handsome Dan cuts. We at buffaBLOG agree Damian, we can only dance if our rock and roll is played by weirdos. 




#5. Floyd & the Nicknames - "Surf Music"

Having played the blog's first birthday party back in March of 2011 with his three piece garage punk band Arctic Death, Steven Floyd has always been one of our favorite guitar players in Buffalo.  This past summer, Floyd released his music, his latest musical project through Steak and Cake, under the moniker of Floyd & the Nicknames.  "Surf Music," the stand out track from the short EP ten million seventy one thousand nine hundred and ninety, kicks off with a rockabilly-like guitar lick taken right out of the South and dropped down on to Allen Street.  Floyd's nasally, Jay Reatard like vocals front the stripped down Stokes like tune.




#4. Aircraft - "Exist"

If there was an award for Buffalo Rookie Band of the Year, Aircraft would have it in the bag.  In addition to landing some clutch opening slots for Cavemen, Thee Oh Sees, and Ty Segall, the Buffalo four piece psych rockers released a great 4 track demo, giving everyone a look at what the promising band may be capable of when their proper full length drops next year.  On the frantic rocker, "Exist," the band gives a nod to the early days of British Psychedelia, with singer Justin John Smith's howl leading the track while being backed by one of Buffalo's best rhythm sections in James Warren and Ian Be.  Plus, anything with a great horn section is good in my book.

  



#3. Anthony DelPlato - "The Arrival"

It's rare that a local album resonates with the listener as much as Anthony DelPlato's intimate storytelling EP, 8 Old Vines. Released via Steak and Cake Records, 8 Old Vines is a tale of road tripping along backroads of upstate New York to visit a girlfriend. Self-recorded in DelPlato's home studio, "The Arrival" is a beautifully layered third track on the album that channels the great 90s emo bands (Appleseed Cast, Mineral). DelPlato is the total package. He is a wonderful story teller, a talented multiinstrumentalist, and has the ability to reach through the speakers and get to your heart. You can't help but feel the emotion. 




#2. Sonny Baker - "Cripple Fantastic"

If you've paid attention to the Buffalo music scene at all for the past seven years, then you know who Sonny Baker is. When other teenagers were going to prom and getting their drivers licenses, Baker was on opening slots for Nietzsche's lineups. After years of performing drums and guitar with various acts (Wooden Waves, A Hotel Nourishing, Lazlo Hollyfeld), Baker finally found time focus on his solo work with Steak and Cake's Brandon Schlia. Baker's first track off of the album Here Are Those Freaks You've Been Asking For, "Cripple Fantastic," is a crescendoing indie rock number that leads into haunting, Jim James-y vocals  It's absolutely amazing.  Promise you'll never leave, Sonny?





#1. The Tins - "Please Be Kind" 

If you are just scoping out this post to get a feel for what is coming out of Buffalo, please look back at all of the previous nineteen artists. Buffalo's music scene is diverse, motivated, and growing. With that said, The Tins' "Please Be Kind" is buffaBLOG's favorite track of 2012. This synth driven indie-pop trio has been around since 2008, playing everywhere from Mr. Goodbar to Austin's Beauty Bar. The single, "Please Be Kind," from the band's first full-length album, Life's A Gas, is perfect. The driving beat, funky bass lines, and keyboardist Mike Santillo's wistful pleas make the track extremely MTVU friendly. If we want an outsider to hear one song from Buffalo this year, this would be it. So, yeah, here's the best track in Buffalo in 2012. 




We could not be more proud of the scene in Buffalo and we at buffaBLOG are excited for 2013. It will only get better. 

Tonight is a big night across America for bar hopping, binge drinking and awkward run ins, or as Buffalonians like to call it: Wednesday. If live music tickles your fancy (and why the hell are you reading this if it doesn't), then Ninth Ward at Babeville is one of your best bets. Vancouver based pop quintet Said The Whale will be headlining the intimate basement venue with a smattering of solid local support. Named by Rockstar Weekly as one of the "Top 12 Rockstars to Watch in 2012", along with Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, and Rush (I think this may be Van Halen's year!), the band has been tirelessly touring in support of their most recent album, Little Mountain. Be sure to get there by 8 to catch monstrous math rock duo All of them Witches, who have promised a "freak out" set not to be missed. Also on the bill are four piece indie up and comers Searching for Dinosaurs and funk inspired alternative rock trio Fourwalls. If you're looking for live music tonight, this is the most bang for your buck. Show your family what a true hangover is.

Tonight, head down to The Tralf to catch another night of the Betterdays Festival, which features some of Buffalo's best local music. For those of you who went to Day 1, you have already purchased your pass for tonight, so what reason do you have to miss another evening of great music, featuring Aircraft, Eppo, Love Scenes, Armageddon Party, All of Them Witches and Canary Girls? If you have not already purchased a pass, they are $10 and will also get you into tomorrow night's show. So, take the opportunity tonight and see all of the bands this blog has been writing about this year and then come back tomorrow for even more. That way, we can feel like we contribute to the greater good. I mean we do, but it is nice to be reminded.

Betterdays Festival Day 2
The Tralf Music Hall
7pm doors/8pm show
$10 for all three days

Still recovering from St. Patrick's Day? Why not head to Ashker's Juice Bar tonight to rehydrate with some great tunes. Local math rock favorites All of Them Witches will be playing, along with visiting one-man act Mylets. Ashker's Juice Bar is in the former Comfort Zone Cafe on Elmwood. The music starts at 8pm.