Showing posts with label best of 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label best of 2012. Show all posts
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buffaBLOG's Best Buffalo Tracks of 2012: 20 - 11



We gave you a little tease yesterday of some Buffalo tunes that have locked themselves into a pretty constant rotation for us here at the blog.  Today, though, is real talk.  Twenty of the finest Queen City songs that 2012 had to offer are ready for your listening ears.  We will start today off with songs 20-11.  Check back in tomorrow for the Top 10.  



#20.  Sea Snake Vs. - "Dink Donk"

 Rising from the rubble left by former local acts, Baby Blue Bird and Chateau Terrace, Sea Snake Vs. first emerged in the summer of 2011, making their debut performance at the Infringement Festival.  Despite the potential, the band would meet a similar fate. While a proper full length release never saw the light of day, the trio turned five piece rock outfit managed to release a couple killer tunes in their short existence.  “Dink Donk” sounds like a perfect marriage of the darker sides My Morning Jacket and the National, combining the driving rhythm section of J. Daniel and Christopher Joseph along with Alexander Reid’s brooding vocals.




#19. Early Attic – “Patterns”

After a fairly quiet 2012 on the internet front, Early Attic released the single, "Patterns," in the final quarter. The band has gone through some personnel change-ups within the last year, but that has not stopped their creative output. The single off their forthcoming album (that MIGHT come out in 2012), “Patterns,” is a testament to the band’s both staying power and ability to pump out one hell of a catchy chorus.

#18. On Beta - "Crackin' Up"

Continuing the tradition of great Harvestsum releases, There's Blood in Your Heart, the debut album from On Beta, wasn't your normal debut.  The piano rock trio was full of veterans from the Buffalo scene (all members are featured or former players in Johnny Nobody, the Backpeddlars, and the Old Sweethearts) and that seasoned confidence can be heard all over the LP, but no more so than in  "Crackin' Up."  The song builds on a tense sense of urgency, featuring great harmonies from the grizzled, soulful voice of Mark Nosowicz, to the always reliable Andy Vaeth (Harvestsum's secret weapon in my opinion and a damn fine beat), proving that piano pop can have a swagger of its own. 




#17. Love Scenes - "Enigmatic" 

Buffalo’s electro-pop staple, Love Scenes, released their second full-length album, Blissed Out Youth, this past summer, just in time for the buffaBLOG restraining order to be lifted.  Blissed Out Youth was positively received not only by Buffalonians, but the band has been rapidly gaining fans in Brazil. Without a doubt, the most impressive and take home worthy track of this album is “Enigmatic.” This track features Leah Loefke’s sweet and ghostly vocals combined guitarist/programmer TJ Grace’s hypnotic electro-pop instrumentals (Freezepop, Crystal Castles), which make this track a must-have for the best of 2012.



#16. Quinton Brock - "Bros" 

University at Buffalo’s resident emcee, Quinton Brock, has a flow that is bigger than his relatively small frame. In 2012, Brock released his debut full-length, Light Mayonnaise, produced by former Sleepy Hahas bassist, Derek Sullivan.  The lead single off the album, "Bros," is a tale about Brock's interactions with the university's...bros. Brock could easily be thrown on the next OFWGKTA mixtape, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it actually happened. MAN FUCK THEM BROS.


#15. Merchants - "Moth" 

2012 saw the departure and eventual return of Merchants. Boy are we glad those plans to move to Alaska and work on a tourist train didn't really pan out. Before their exodus from Buffalo, the band was a three-piece grunge act relegated a dark corner of Nietzsche's with zero internet presence or recordings. Fast forward to December 2012  and the band has a demo, a semi-active Facebook/Twitter, a gig with The Growlers under their belt and an additional member, keyboardist Steve Gordon.  Merchants are resurrecting grunge in Buffalo, singing songs about depression, whiskey, and well, other things. What is exceptional about Merchants is their ability to "Real Estate" themselves up once in a while. "Moth" sticks out because it's one of the first songs we've heard from this foursome at buffaBLOG and still holds a firm place in our heart and iTUNES playlists. 




#14. Settlers - "Sky Kings" 

Born on the dirty basement floor of DIY space, The Jungle Gym, Settlers were one of the bands that instantly clicked with us.  The band's sound could best be described as noisey, driving, lo-fi rock and roll a la No Age. This scuzz rock tagteam consists of current Buffalo expats, Maxwell Scott (bass) and Daniel Gomez (drums). "Sky Kings" was the first song released by the band via a trippy youtube video made up of clips from a 70's hang gliding doc titled Playground in the Sky and needs to be on this list. Also, we're pretty sure Maxwell Scott is the only three-stringed bass player in Western New York. 





#13.  Signo Vinces - "Hot Time"

This is the official start of bands associated with Buffalo’s indie hit machine and mastermind behind Steak and Cake Records, Brandon Schilia. Signo Vinces consists of Schilia and Love Scenes songstress, Leah Loefke. The band started out as a recording project recording covers and throwing them on bandcamp, but the duo's electro-pop project has grown to a four-piece live performance. Their track "Hot Time" is a must-have for any best of Buffalo 2012 countdown. 




#12. Young Suns  - "Whale Fall"

If the world ends tomorrow, I know I will die barricaded in my apartment with Young Suns' "Whale Fall" blaring out of my dying computer speakers because most likely the power grid will fail before it all goes down. In 2012, we saw the debut of post-hardcore instrumentalists, Young Suns and boy are they tight. Garnering influences from Russian Circles, Every Time I Die, and Explosions in the Sky, this post-apocalyptic rock quartet is on it's way to becoming one of Buffalo's chief exports. 
#11. Cemeteries - "The Wilderness"

 Goth Pop.  Dark Dream Pop.  Whatever you want to call it, Kyle J. Reigle’s Cemeteries released one of the most impressive albums to come out of Buffalo in some time. Released on Lefse Records, The Wilderness was a collection of atmospheric and mood filled pieces that easily could have scored one of the horror flicks Reigle oh so loves.  On the album’s ray of light title track, though, the shimmer and shine break through for a song that would sound right in place on any great John Hughes' film.  Had Red House Painters and Wild Nothing ever gotten together, this is what it would sound like.




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buffaBLOG's Best Buffalo Tracks of 2012: 10 - 1


We have reached the end.  The Top 10.  The best of the best.  Cream of the crop.  Whatever other cliche you care to use.  However you want to look at it, the truth is this:  this was a great year for Buffalo music.  The scene is growing, and growing stronger every day.  New bands are keeping older guys like us fresh and excited for what is next to come.  These next ten tracks are a big part of why 2012 was so great here.  Take a moment to listen to each track (in addition to the first half of our final list from yesterday) and appreciate the quality and variety of music that this city has to offer.  In the blog's nearly three short years, we have seen a lot of these acts emerge, making what we do here not a chore, but actually pretty fun.  We hope you enjoy reading this list as we had putting it together.




#10. Dr. Ooo - “Windstar”

Essential Vitamin Crew member Dr. Ooo’s teasingly short single “Windstar” was a little about a mini-van and a lot about nothing.  His lyrics are hot fire and Ooo’s easy-off-the tounge flow is like a white, rust-belt Snoop Dog. All I have to say is watch out AJ Jordan in 2013. You have some emcees gunnin’ for your “Best Rap Act out of Buffalo” title.



#9. All Of Them Witches – "Guys Night"

It always boggles my mind how tight these guys are. Between drummer Cameron Rogers’ unpredictable and extremely complicated rhythms, along with Phil Freedenberg's ability to simultaneously tap at two guitars on top of having the ability to stand up and breathe should label the two super human. Like, how do you even do that? Their track “Guy’s Night” is a prime example of why these guys are so motherfucking good.



#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. 
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buffaBLOG's Best of 2012: Guest Picks - Patrick Simons


Editor's note: For our best of 2012 coverage, we decided to reach out to some friends of the blog to get an idea of what made the year in music so great for them.  For our final installment in the guest series, Patrick Simons, Community Manager of Block Club, submitted his best of list. 

When I was first asked to scribble something for buffaBLOG’s year in review, I told Mac that from what my memory provided me, I didn’t really spend much of 2012 listening to music that came out in 2012. My year consisted mostly of Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin albums and old Gucci Mane mixtapes, but after digging in the crates, I did find some time in the last 12 months to spin a few new releases. 


So, with that being said, behold, my loosely curated notes about some of the 
music I listened to and some of the music I saw in 2012.


Favorite Releases

 Diving right in, The Idler Wheel... was, by leaps and bounds, my favorite album of 2012. Fiona Apple was hard in the paint with this one. Straight fire from start to finish. If you missed it, or wrote it off, or whatever, don't be dumb anymore.  Go listen to it.



I was sort of bummed about Young Jeezy's TM103 release. I've never really bit into any of Jeezy's studio releases, but for some reason, I was really expecting a masterpiece with this one.  Woe is me, though.  His new It's the World mixtape has been decent in it's first, and probably second last listen, but I want more of the old Snowman. Can't a guy just get another good Trap or Die mixtape?  Sheesh.

Favorite musician/band of 2012 goes to Chromatics.  Johnny Jewel was on one for 12 months straight.  He's showing no signs of slowing down either, which is wonderful news

That Symmetry mix - watch out man.  And Kill for Love. Whoa. The Let's Kiss/Sunday Morning mix. The Running from the Sun album of unreleased Kill for Love session material. That Black and White autumn mix.  Roughly four albums worth of new material and a couple tight mixes made me a happy camper in 2012.

A Karen Dalton recording from inside her Summerville, CO. cabin from 1966 was released in February. A rehearsal with her then-husband for an upcoming show was captured by one of their friends, and eventually released nearly 50 years later. Dalton only released two albums in her lifetime, as she was known to have hated time in the studio. So this collection of home recordings is a blessing. Both lulling and haunting, 1966 got a lot of rotations this year.

Average year for Gucci Main releases.  Nothing stellar, but I liked most of Trap Back.

Raekwon dropped a few tracks in the last month or so in preparation for Los Jewelry mixtape that is being released in early 2013. Shallah is sounding as slick as ever. The freestyle he did over Notorious BIG's "Who Shot Ya?" is unreal. "Concord jet to the Congos."   




 Other favorite releases from 2012 include:

  • The Body’s reissue of their 2004 S/T debut album. Shout out to Satan.

  • TNGHT – Lunice and Hudson Mohawke’s S/T beat project was wild.

  • I’ve got the reissue of D’Angelo’s 2000 sophomore album, Voodoo being delivered any day now. Excited about that classic.

  • Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange

  • Usher’s Diplo-produced “Climax” single.

Honorable mentions:

  • How to Dress Well - Total Loss

  • Ty Segall and White Fence - Hair

  • Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music

  • Thee Oh Sees - Putrifiers II

  • Beach House - Bloom

Live Shows

I was fortunate enough to see a fair amount of live shows this year. My first quarter concert attendance was rather lacking, but I think I’ve done my best to compile what was important. 




Favorites: 



The Impossibles – The Mohawk, Austin, TX

I up and flew to Texas to see my favorite band of all time play a reunion concert in June. The Impossibles played back-to-back dates nearly 10 years to the day after their final show on June 2, 2002. I missed them when they came through Buffalo with Grade and The Movielife in 1999, so I’d been waiting 13 years to see these guys.



From what I can piece together, The Impossibles pretty much got me in to music. I remember the first time my cousin Frank played them for me, we were in my bedroom at my parents’ house on Christmas. Those ska chords got me. If you still fuck with ska music, I probably got love for you.



Anyway, words can’t really describe my experience at this show, so it’s not really worth explaining. And unless you know who The Impossibles are, it wouldn’t matter if I did. Very broadly, the show brought me to tears on more than one occasion. Best concert of my life, by a long shot. 
GZA & Killer Mike – Town Ballroom

If you were at the show, you probably caught me front row, rapping Liquid Swords in entirety, on multiple occasions, into GZA’s microphone as he held it out for me.



The next day, Killer Mike happened to be stuck in Buffalo, so I invited him to my house for dinner via Twitter. Black bean and sweet potato burgers and a fall salad. He graciously declined as he got a hotel outside of the city, but insisted I reach out the next time he’s in Buffalo.



Fiona Apple – Kleinhan’s

Man, this poor girl looked like a dishrag when she first came out. Strung out on something. Her voice was all there though. Once she got some blood flowing and her face got some color, she really let it rip. The highlight for me was “I Know.”



Every Time I Die – Mohawk Place

You might have caught me nearly teary-eyed at this show too. The closing of Mohawk Place has got me shook, but these guys made it seem all right for at least a couple hours. The last time I saw ETID was at their Christmas show at a bowling alley in North Tonawanda a few years back. I forgot what I’ve been missing.


These guys are serious showmen. Andy Williams in the pit playing some sludge metal riffs. Keith Buckley laying upside down over a 10-foot-tall speaker, barfing lyrics. Jordan Buckley crowd surfing with his guitar in one hand. Merry Christmas.


Thee Oh Sees & Ty Segal – Town Ballroom

Punk as fuck.

 Honorable Mention:
- Wu-Tang Clan – Town Ballroom
- The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – Thursday at the Harbor
- Sleigh Bells – Town Ballroom
- AraabMuzik – Soundlab
- Dr. Ooo – DBGB
- Raekwon – Noir
- Curren$y – Town Ballroom
- Cursive & Cymbals Eat Guitars – Mohawk Place


So while I know I missed some good stuff in 2012, it turns out I did catch some really solid tunes this year. 2013 seems to be shaping up as well. 

New Juelz Santana mixtape drops the second week of January. Hoping D’Angelo’s follow up to Voodoo drops this year. There’ve been talks of a new Wu-Tang Clan album. Video recordings from The Impossibles reunion shows are to be released. Looking forward to new Pusha T tracks, the new Devendra Banhart album, and hopefully more music from Wise Blood. 

Happy new year y’all. Go check some of this stuff out.

Mad love.
~Patrick Simons
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