19) Victory for Poland - "Save Yourself From Me"
V4P might be the youngest band on the top 20, but "Save Yourself From Me" shows an astounding amount of songwriting skill from a group of high school age musicians. Featuring a slew of horns, fiddles, and a guest appearance from Brimstone Blondes frontman Matthew Danger Lippman, "Save Yourself From Me" is saturated with all sorts of genres, including psych rock, ska, and even some folk, all with a "can't-quite-put-your-finger-on-it" flavor of  "that could only be from the UK." We buffaBLOGGERS have been mourning the loss of many of our favorite high school aged bands this year but luckily, Victory for Poland is still around. - NAS



18) Strange Acres - "Faith"
Strange Acres’ crawling “Faith” was arguably the most gripping track off of the band’s impressive debut self titled full length. A Harvest Sum super group of sorts, Strange Acres (featuring former members of Sleeping Kings of Iona and current members of Orphans) began as the score to an imaginary film, but the band eventually evolved beyond their original “cinematica” concept. The album's first track, “Faith,” accentuates the sultry songstress Molly Grace’s, chillingly dreary delivery as well as highlights her personal struggle with religion. Fans of chilled out electro (Fever Ray, Portishead), will dig this. - MJM



17) Andy Vaeth  - "Never Make a Sound"
As a member of Johnny Nobody, the Old Sweethearts, On Beta, and the Backpeddlers, Andy Vaeth has been entrenched in the Buffalo music scene for over a decade. For someone involved in so many projects, it was a welcome surprise when he released his solo EP, Sad Synthetic Sounds, via Steak & Cake Records. Vaeth, whose voice has long been one of Buffalo's secret weapons, sounds as fragile as ever on the gorgeous, alt-country tinged "Never Make a Sound." The track is a bare bones tune featuring the singer and his trusty acoustic guitar. Little touches like the layered vocals during the chorus, subtle electronic melody, and the digital drum beat remind you that this is a Steak & Cake release after all, but Vaeth, as always, manages to convey emotions through three and a half minutes better than almost anyone in Buffalo. - MPM



16) Cross Stitch - "Worst Dancer in the Room"
I have a confession. I get a lot of music sent to me via the internet and as a “music journalist” I would be bankrupt if I bought every digital release I liked. I am the guy that types “0” in the pay what you want option on bandcamp. Now that I got that off my chest, I enjoyed Cross Stitch’s debut six-song EP, The Early Years (Drug Party Tapes), so much that I bought it. Cross Stitch is an all-girl feminist punk band that sounds like a punkier Marnie Stern in a basement with Sleater-Kinney undertones. “Worst Dancer in the Room,” is the fifth track on their EP, a slow-to-start crescendo-ing diddy about the fear of being alone. - MJM



15) Space Wolves - "Too Short"
You would think that the lo-fi surf rock that comes from Space Wolves would be happy-go-lucky or at the very least, irreverent. Sometimes it is – some of their best songs are about buying cigarettes on the Res or driving out of state. That’s not quite the case with “Too Short”… not even close actually. After a burst of pipeline guitar, Nick Reynolds and Chris Scamurra launch into an intelligent, albeit self-deprecating song about being, well, just not quite good enough. “Too Short” is about that little voice in all of us that reminds us of all the insecurities  we secretly hope no one else notices.But at the end of the day, this is why buffaBLOG loves Space Wolves so much - we can count on them for both genuine emotion or a song about buying cheap cigarettes. Now that’s a balance I can relate to. - NAS



14) Mallwalkers - "Going Downtown"
If I were to make a video compilation of memories from summer 2013, Mallwalkers’ “Going Downtown” would be the soundtrack provided my memories were summed up in roughly three minutes. For those unaware, Mallwalkers is a super-group of sorts, featuring a few Buffalo’s major players in the rock and roll scene (Biff, Dan Carosa, Stephen Floyd, Tony Flaminio). They could best be described as an 11-piece punchy funk-punk band, complete with a horn section and interpretive dancer. “Going Downtown,” was the first single off the band’s August release, Shake Off The Rust, where singers Carosa and Jaime Rowitsch sing of gathering the masses in downtown Buffalo like punk rock pied pipers. - MJM



13) Lancer - "Elephant in the Corner"
Rarely does an album make me want to cuff my arm around my buddy’s neck and scream lyrics from a band, let alone a local band, in their face. Lancer’s Don is Rich EP is full of such moments, with “Elephant in the Corner” being the most outstanding on an already very strong EP. Lead singer Victor Castillo gravely vocals and delivery of “Elephant in the Corner's” chorus make me excited to see how this band will grow in 2014. Lancer does not make songs, they make pop-punk anthems. - MJM
 

12) Camp Counselors - "Charyou"
Haunting. OK, I got that word out of the way mostly because its the easiest/laziest description one could give to "Charyou," the standout track from Huntress, Cemeteries mastermind Kyle J. Reigle's side project Camp Counselors. "Charyou" leads off with an unnerving, throbbing beat that gives way to Reigle's airy vocals. Out of nowhere, (well specifically the 2:05 mark) "Charyou" transforms into a cut of atmospheric witchhouse. The sense of dread that Reigle loves to deliver lingers over the entire tune, never allowing you to get too comfortable. Fans of The xx, Atoms for Peace, Timber Timbre, and modern Radiohead, this is for you. - MPM



11) Applennium - "Island"
Applennium might be one of Buffalo’s most understated and underrated bands. If you think this is a point worth arguing, you should first listen to the dreamy groove of “Island.” Singer Stacey Stoll’s hushed delivery is flawless, reminiscent of Still Corners or even Karen O if she took a Xanax or something. On top of this, they’ve filled the background of “Island” with distant vocals that range from a haunting moan to a “tribal” howl. I can really appreciate when a band takes the time to fill out the background of a song. So, yes, this song isn’t quite a face-melting barnburner, but it is the perfect song to put on when you want to chill out and melt into your bed. - NAS




Check out songs 10 - 1 here.

Tonight will be a special night in Hamburg. No, the Erie County Fair isn't ending early. The Cascos, the pride of the suburb best known for DUI arrests, will be giving their last show for the foreseeable future with Brimstone Blondes at Longboards on the Beach. Yes, like Victory For Poland, the lads are going to college (they're leaving home... sniff) and the band is going on a necessary hiatus, but not before one last show for their peoples on the beach tonight. The show starts at 6. Even though they've left us the fine LP, Garage On Martha, to chew on, this will be your last chance to get your Cascos fix for a good while, so plan accordingly.

And to the kids in Victory For Poland and Cascos - good luck, and we'll see you when we see you.

Tonight is a very special show.  Three Buffalo-area, high-school-aged bands have come together to throw a show at the Ninth Ward.  No promotors, no funny stuff, just a bunch of kids doing stuff, DIY style.  The show features the garage-rock prodigies in Brimstone Blondes, the multi-instrumentalist indie-pop prodigies in Victory for Poland, and the surfy Vampire Weekend-like prodigies in The Cascos.  It's worth mentioning that despite their age, these bands have some pretty reputable influences i.e. Pavement, Modest Mouse, and Neutral Milk Hotel.  These young musicians are probably going to be at the forefront of the Buffalo music scene in the years to come.
  Show starts at 7:00pm and is only $7.  Come hang out at the Ninth Ward (even if it is a school night).

The school year is about in the books for Sweethome High School this year, which means some of our favorite acts out of the suburbs will be releasing some new music. Yesterday evening, one of those acts, the bouncy indie poppers Victory for Poland, released their latest single. Titled "Save Yourself From Me," the song sees the act drift way from some of the Los Campesinos! and Modest Mouse comparisons and into some of the early 2000 Liverpool sounds of the Coral and Zutons. Touches of psych rock, dub reggae, and some British ska-pop (I do love me some horns) segue into some guest vocals from Brimstone Blondes frontman Matthew Lippman, which provide a nice, gritty counterpart to V4P's Tylor Colby. Stream the track below and check it out for yourself, and while you are at it, make sure to catch V4P along with fellow high school acts The Cascos and Brimstone Blondes at Babeville's Night Ward on May 19th.

2012 has been an excellent year for the Buffalo music scene. We've seen a rise of legitimately talented rappers, tight indie rock bands, and quality electronic acts all actively releasing some great tunes.

Beginning this Thursday, we will be revealing the first half of our top 20 tracks from Buffalo in 2012, with the second half coming on Friday.  If you can't wait til then though, then tune into the WBNY Local Show tomorrow night at 7pm for the full list

But, let's not get ahead of ourselves.  There was just too much good music released this year to fit into our Top 20, so we wanted to give some credit where credit is due to a few songs that just missed the cut.  Here are some of the close calls to our top 20 tracks from Buffalo in 2012. 



Jack Toft - "Beef on Weck" 

If you've been paying attention to the local scene,  you'd notice that Jack Toft has been on it lately. There has been a burst of creativity on his soundcloud page within the past month. His recent partnership with electro producer TEEN WOLF (of NINJASONIK fame), has invigorated his musical output, strengthening both his lyrics and flows. This highly observant punk rock rapper's track "Beef on Weck" drops nods to Buffalo's culture, women, and landmarks. Buffalo's tourism industry may want to get in contact with this emcee because in the end Jack Toft is Buffalo and Buffalo is Jack Toft. 



Victory For Poland - "A Man Who Suddenly Realizes He is Not Alone"

All Blondes Go To Heaven - "Magdalena, Queen of the World"  

Remember in 2003 when the whole new phase of "emo" came along? Bands such as Brand New and Taking Back Sunday influenced thousands of impressionable fifteen years olds to start their own usually shitty emo band for the next five years until "indie" became cool. Fast forward to today. This genre of emo phase II/pop punk is emerging in Buffalo, and All Blondes Go To Heaven is a good example of how to do it right. All Blondes have mastered the art of shout-singing in unison, pumping out songs about the glory days of high school, and delivering catchy-ass choruses. Their single "Magdalena, Queen of the World" is a testament to the band's potential and ability to write a great pop-punk song. 

Applennium - "Swing-jump"

Applennium is one of those great bands that gets taken for granted in Buffalo.  They don't play live all that often, and release new music even less.  But when they do, they sure make it count.  During the sweltering summer we had this past season, the sort of local super group (lineup includes members of Bearhunter and Fourem) released "Swing-jump," a summer tune if there was one.  Full of sunny melodies and gorgeous harmonies, the tune could easily fit in with Woods at their most restrained or Yo La Tengo at their sunniest of times.  

Go Exploring - "Today" 

Not much is known about Go Exploring except he is a talented one man band with the ability to craft a catchy tune. Go Exploring's "Today" starts a laid back indie pop tune similar to that of The Radio Dept that goes straight disco in the last two minutes. We at buffaBLOG are looking forward to hearing more from Go Exploring and seeing them live as soon as they put together a full band. So yeah, get on that. 

Victory for Poland:  Victory for Poland were the winners of the Music is Art Battle of the Bands.  For a band whose members are still in high school, their sound and influences are surprisingly mature...  Think Modest Mouse or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.  A young band of talented multi-instrumentalists is something everyone can get into - they'll be playing from 12:45 - 1:00 on Stage #3.

So the Betterdays Festival kickoff starts tonight and will be raging all weekend. Betterdays is a celebration and tribute to the city's diversity and raditude when it comes to local music, and if you haven't heard of the bands playing it, you probably haven't been following our blog. Here's what you need to know: the fest is taking place under one roof (the Tralf) this evening and will continue Saturday and Sunday beginning at 7pm each day. I'll spare the music descriptions...put simply Victory for Poland, the Merchants, Wakos, Anytime Anywhere and Early Attic are some of the best bands going right now. They've officially got my sealed endorsement, not that that means much. So I'll say they've got Obama's endorsement! A bit more credible I think although wholly untrue (I'm a liar). Either way, this is not to be missed...after all $10 for three days is nothing to scoff at. That's correct. 10 DOLLARS...for THREE DAYS. Do it to it.

OK, that's just a couple suggestions. I know there's probably some great zombie/gay vampire/medieval TV show on HBO or AMC that you don't want to miss, but you should really get outside and check out the Festival. It's pretty cool and it's made out of Real Life.

Well I am clearly a little late with this writeup. The 2012 Infringement Festival is already kicking my ass. Last night started with the quaint, cordial Love Scenes show at The Vault and quickly devolved into Allentown mayhem with Ronald Raygun performing both of their double booked sets at Nietzsche's and Duke's an hour apart from each other (with a chaotic caravan of musicians and fans hustling equipment across Allen Street so the band could make both shows).  Such is the nature of Buffalo's most frenetic and adventurous festival. Let's see what's in store for today.

buffaBLOG's Broadway Market Rooftop Extravaganza
This is going on right now (it started at 1), so stop reading this post and get your ass to the Broadway Market! From 1-7, festival goers will be treated to sets from Victory For Poland, Sleepy Haha's, Merchants, The Albrights, Handsome Jack and Trakbenders spinning in between sets.  This was a lot of fun last year, so don't miss your chance to catch it this time.  Bring a chair!

Merge Electronic Circus
Taking place in the parking lot next to Merge, this should be one of the more interesting concerts of the week.  A who's who list of Buffalo electronic artists will be playing from 9pm-1:30am, including Eppo, Bear Skin Rug, Medison, Mario Be, Trakbenders (busy day, guys!) Jeff Repeater, Ay Fast, Drop D and Nobez.  This is a rare chance to enjoy some of Buffalo's finest electronic artists in the great outdoors, so be sure to drop by.

Nietzsche's - Wham Bam Thank You Slam part deux
 Sort of the de facto nucleus of the Infringement Festival, Nietzsche's has a packed lineup tonight once again. Performances by DJ Soma, The Hell's Harlots, Wham Bam Poetry Troupe, The Buffalo Burlesque Collective, MC Vendetta, Lazyrus, Tim Sentman and the Essential Vitamins Crew.  Stop pretending like you're not going to go.


The Best of the Rest
Don't forget to drop into Duke's at 11 to catch Armageddon Party. Also, Slyboots, Broadway Joe's and Filigree's all have good music going on tonight if you're looking for something off the beaten Allentown path.  In the eternal words of 311, my favorite band from high school: "Don't Stay Home!"  (and you thought I couldn't work in a 311 reference)

In just a few hours, we will be throwing our 2nd installment of our Broadway Market Rooftop Extravaganza as part of the 2012 Buffalo Infringement Festival.  Not to toot our own horn or anything, but you would be hard to find a more unique venue for this year's festival than our rooftop party.  So come spend your afternoon with us, relaxing under the (hopeful) summer sun, listening to some of Buffalo's best local acts.  And if you are hungry, just walk down a couple flights to grab some of the amazing food in the market.

All week we have been introducing or reintroducing all of the acts that will be gracing the stage/roof today.  If you missed any of the artist spotlights, please take a moment to check them out below.

TrakBenders
Victory for Poland
Sleepy Hahas
Merchants
Handsome Jack
The Albrights

Remember, event is rain or shine.  If the weather does not cooperate with us this afternoon, we will move the party to the 2nd floor of the market.  If you are wondering where to park, you can drive right up to the roof, its huge.  Bring something to sit on unless you find the pavement rather comfortable.  And lastly, bring a few bucks for the artists.  All of them are doing this for free, but if a donation bucket is sent around, toss them a few.  It would be greatly appreciated.

Party runs from 1:00pm - 7:00pm.  No cover.  See you then.

This Saturday marks the second iteration of our Broadway Market Rooftop Extravaganza. Live music from an eclectic smattering of Buffalo bands and DJ's will be gracing the rooftop all afternoon as part of the Buffalo Infringement Festival. I couldn't make it to last year's Extravaganza, so I'm excited that I get to attend this year. One of the bands I'm most looking forward to catching is Victory For Poland. Mike Moretti turned me onto them a few months back and they are single handedly giving me hope for the future generation of Buffalo bands. Sunny, tight songwriting flanked by tasteful instrumentation, they have a remarkably focused sound for such a young band, which is probably why they've already been tapped to play in venues such as Broadway Joe's, Soundlab and The Town Ballroom. Come down to the Broadway Market this Saturday to see what all the fuss is about, then lament at how horrible your band was at that age in comparison.

Show from 1-7pm.