Heat @ Mohawk Place, Buffalo, NY

Heat played an exciting set of music on 9/26 @ Mohawk Place in Buffalo, NY. The room was packed with lots of twenty-somethings who were ready to rock out with Heat. The Montreal band sounded right and the melodies were tight. The band plays a very unique blend of 90's shoe-gaze and 80's new-wave packed with plenty of rebellious attitude and youthful energy. Singer Susil Sharma manages to sound, sing And look as cool as Lou Reed whilst playing lead guitar on a revved up Rickenbacker. Matthew Fiorentino manipulated an array of foot pedals to enhance his rhythmic guitar playing. His effects driven, guitar sounds seemingly became more interesting and complex as the set went on. Bassist Raphael Bussieres plays with a punchy, over-driven sound. His playing style perfectly compliments and enhances the melodies of each song. Drummer Alex Crow provided the back beat, playing with boundless energy and effortless precision. The band finished off their short, but satisfying set with a wall of psychedelic sounds. Be sure to catch Heat if they hit your town, you won't be disappointed. Check out my review of Heats Rooms EP on this blog.

Special thanks to Evan Taylor and all of the members of Heat.

Heat - Montreal, Canada

Heat is a great, new band from Montreal who are currently on tour supporting another great band, Bully. 

Heat Website

http://www.heat-band.com/

Heat Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/bandheat

Heat: Rooms EP music review

"This Life" kicks off the EP in style. The vocalist really sounds like he's sneering while he's singing. The line right before the guitar solo pretty much sums up the feeling I get from the music and the attitude of a hungry, new band. The 2 guitars blend together on the song to create a melodic sound with a definite punk edge. Great opening track.

"Rooms" has a melodic guitar intro that couples along with a cool lead guitar. Heat uses the 2 guitar setup to create a cohesive and well balanced sound. The melodic bass line is easily heard in the mix. The vocal sound and phrasing remind me of a young Bob Dylan.

"All I Wanna Do" would be a great track to listen to while you and your friends hang out and play records. The lead guitar on this song is awesome. Diggin' the bass sound on this track. 

"4 25" has a fancy, free-flowing groove. The vocals perfectly punctuate the mesmerizing guitar groove.

 "Susifine" is a brash alternative rock song. The bass follows the vocal adding even more depth and melody to the track. This song is my favorite tune on the EP. The sound reflects the urgency of a young band that is on the rise.

The tempo of "Ritual" is quick and chock full of rockin' guitar sounds and harmony vocals. 

"Wild Eyes" immediately reminded me of REM and The Smiths. Heat closes out this EP with a awesome, melodic track.  

The sound of Heat is all at once fresh and familiar. Equally calling to mind the 1970s proto-punk of New York City and the sprawling psychedelia of 90s UK shoegaze, it's a sound that is infused with youthful attitude and is altogether self-assured at it's core. A call to arms to the tune of weaving guitars and baritone crooning, this Montreal 4-piece has been turning heads and catching ears worldwide.

Special thanks to Evan and Heat.

Common Purpose - Buffalo, NY

Common Purpose latest Generation (Wh)Y EP cover

  

Gary Ranney is a indie hip hop artist out of Buffalo NY. Common Purpose is the brainchild of Gary Ranney and he has recently released an advance single from his new EP entitled, Certainty And Doubt. The Generation (Wh)Y CD will be released this summer on Deepthinka records.

Here's a Youtube promo video link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMy3Hxo2Q8I
Common Purpose Twitter link:
https://twitter.com/ComPurp 
Common Purpose bandcamp link:
https://commonpurpose.bandcamp.com/ 
Project Contributors:
Production by: DJ Bake$ale and Blueprint
Bakesale twitter link:  https://twitter.com/_bakesale
Blueprint twitter link https://twitter.com/printmatic
Blueprint website http://printmatic.net/

The Hovelists - Buffalo, NY

The Hovelists 7i EP music review.
The first track is a instrumental that sounded like Radiohead in the very beginning. A rather ominous sounding guitar line comes in providing melody. More guitars come in, some in harmony, some not, creating a schizo/psychedelic sound. Quite disconcerting, but still cool and unique.
Next up is "Poltergiest". The backing track has a unique sound that had me wondering, how did they get those cool sounds?... The tempo is laid back and cool guitar sounds swirl in and out of the mix. The vocals have a 90's timbre.
"Nineteen Ninety Five" has a vocal that is full of angst and emotion. The guitar solo sounds great and the rhythm guitar could've been a bit more upfront in the mix, like the solo, adding even more power to the melody.
"Gone Without Goodbye" starts off with a rather catchy lead guitar line. The verses have a retro new wave sound and the chorus' pick up with a pop punk sound. This song would be perfect for college radio. The outro repeats the catchy six string melody, sounding much like a 70's pop rock anthem.
"Mess thats Made" has a laid back groove much like Dinosuar Jr.
"Chapter and Verse" is another chaotic, guitar-based instrumental that would sound great on a horror film soundtrack.
"Deeper Into The Hold" could be described as a psychedelicized version of NIN. The vocals are backtracked and distorted over a hypnotized slow guitar groove. Lyrics come in and out of the mix further drawing you into the music. The song sounds like it could and will go on forever but it abruptly ends.
Believe it or not all the great sounds on the EP come from the talented minds of a self-described "alternative rock duo". These guys do a great job at recording multiple tracks and turning them into well composed songs that any fan of the "alternative" music genre would enjoy.

The Hovelists are an alternative rock duo based in Olean, NY, south of Buffalo. The Hovelists were formed in 2012, comprised of Chris Curcio (vocal/guitar) and Rich Nothem (vocal/bass.) For performances, they regularly use electronic drums and loops as percussion but they have also worked with several local drummers. The Hovelists most recent accomplishment is the completion of the 7i EP, that was  released through Tunecore on August 25th.

Rich and Chris first met in 2006 while in relationships with each others' sisters. They first started jamming together in 2007. Previous to The Hovelists they worked in a number of local Alternative/Punk Rock bands including The Electric Sheep, Canaries in the Coal Mine, and The Filters. All of those names were inspired by Sci-Fi literature. That includes The Hovelists which is a reference to a Philip K. Dick novel “The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch”.

Since their inception, The Hovelists have recorded and released seven EP's in total. All of them were recorded and produced in Chris's basement. The DIY recordings range in sound from alternative/punk rock to experimental/post-rock tracks. The 6 song EP's all follow the same format. Four standard rock/pop songs encased by two instrumentals. The lyrical content covers topics such as personal demons ,social issues and stream of consciousness. The most recent recording If You Don't EP (2014) earned a favorable response from listeners. The title track “It Just Came to Me” received airtime on some of the local college radio stations.

Rich and Chris are currently performing regionally to promote the new recording. They are also busy writing and recording for a new series of two track EP's that will be released monthly starting in January of 2016.

Check out all of The Hovelists music on their website http://www.thehovelists.com/

Special thanks to Chris and The Hovelists.

 

Wood Bois - Buffalo, NY

Wood Bois "Sex Playlist" EP review
"Razor Scooterz" kicks off the keyboard heavy music. A vocal heavy mix and tongue in cheek lyrical content pair up with a solid melody. You'll find yourself singing along with the catchy chorus after the 1st listen. Great up-tempo starter song to kick off the EP.
"The Sparkles" instantly reminded me of The Cure. I am a big fan of The Cure so I dug the song. The music has a true 80's feel and the lyrics quote the best of The Cure. The Sparkles sounds like a great band name or a talented TV show band.
"Can You Feel It? (No)" starts off with a cool keyboard melody and a vocal that reminded me of Depeche Mode. The Fran Drescher soundbyte really cracked me up. The song turns into a rap for a minute and goes out with a wall of rising vocals.
"Meth Girl" contains a great middle section full of crazy noises, almost like a real girl on meth!
I wanted to hear a crazy female voice somewhere on the closing track.
Maybe the legendary Franny Drescher will add some vocals on the next Wood Bois CD, that would be awesome!

Wanting to hear more Wood Bois music, I instantly clicked on the Super Flea EP recognizing the photo from the legendary Cheektowaga hotspot. The place where Joe Tell bought alot of records and comic books back in the day.
The Wood Bois combine the best of the new wave with a good dose of the Beastie Boys and write and perform entertaining music laced with plenty of comedic humor.

Wood Bois are a 2-4 piece (depending on the night) comedy synthpop/indie electro group.  We mix 80's style new wave music (for the most part) with humorous lyrics.  Comparisons we've received are "indie goth electro a la The Drums with the joking nature of Flight of the Concords," "an R-rated Weird Al," "Tenacious D with synths," and also "for fans of Soft Cell."
The current lineup of the group is:
Blaine Wood-vocals, samples, keyboards
Julius (pronounced with a lisp) Bois-vocals, samples
Hiding in the Dark Hiding in the Shadows (aka Hit D' Hits)-keyboards, production, sequencing
Shreddy Van Wailin'-guitar, vocals

We recently released our new EP Sex Playlist which you can download for free at our bandcamp site, http://woodbois.bandcamp.com  You can find more information about Wood Bois at www.woodboismusic.com

Thank you Wood Bois!

Pants and the Family - Buffalo, NY

Pants and The Family "You Will Go To A Party Where Strange Customs Prevail" CD review.
Wait a second, I think I've been to a few parties like that...anyway, on with the review.  
"Lots of $ for Jesus, Not Much For Me" starts off with a great keyboard intro and then turns into a Talking Heads-like new wavish song. The singer sounds like the lead singer from 2Rabbit. Kudos to this band for composing music and song titles that sound very unique. I think it's important to note that each song is part of a larger Rock Opera, which is a very admirable undertaking for a local band.
How many local bands do you know of that are creative and confident enough to release a original rock opera? None that I know. Musical comparisons can be made to Green Jelly or Chunkpipe.
"Who Put The Holes In Mr. Wumpy?" is up next, the intro has a thunder tube and some random, classic, sound bites. The lyrics brought a sly smile to my face as the keyboard rose up and down setting the tempo.
"Uncle Charlie's Lap" has a rockin' drum track and a keyboard provides a smooth melody. This song brought back some childhood memories for me. Every family has a favorite Uncle or Aunt, that we all took turns sitting in as kids. It's a family tradition.
"Abandoned Gravy Train Station" has a ominous sounding keyboard track and I want to hear the keys louder in the mix. A cool bass solo takes center stage halfway through the song.
The guitar intro for "Please Ignore The Clown" is a nice touch on a keyboard based soundtrack. The keyboard plays a spooky chord progression over a low key vocal. This song is my favorite on the CD so far, I wanted to hear a little guitar solo using the sound on the track along with all the other great noises on the song.
The psuedo-jazz musical intro for "In Bed with Frogs and Toads" threw me for a loop almost as much as the song title, think about for a second or two...yuch. The song continues on with a up-tempo, keyboard based groove that reminded of an old Joe Jackson song from the 80's.
"Things Were So Much Better (Before Ginger and Mary Ann)" has a 60's psychedelic/garage rock groove. I definitely dug the groovy beat. 
"Mud Flap Prophet" was very new wave and the instrumental breakdown at the end was great.
"Hot Steamy Stank (Blue Plate Special)" has a nice call and return part with male vocalist and the female narrator, it would have been good to hear more vocal interplay between, like a B-52's song.
The title track is a true, psychedelic explosion! The instrumental features Floyd/Primus electrical bass sounds served up with a heavy dose of noise and various vocal things that fade in and out adding to the musical chaos. 
"Twelve Miles East Of Stupid" continues along the same vein but has a Pink Floyd vocal sound and tempo.
The melodies and sounds on "Why Drive When You Can Stay Home" reminded me of 70's progressive rock. The keyboards sound huge and hypnotizing along with the distorted bass. The vocal lines break up the big keyboard parts.
"You Will Go To A Party Where Strange Customs Prevail" closes out with "All The Houses Have Mean Faces". This song closes out the CD on a high note with a song that conveys an uplifting mood with it's uptempo rhythm. A honest comparison can be made to the Flamings Lips.
You Will Go To A Party Where Strange Customs Prevail is a great musical effort by a band of highly talented musicians.
Special Thanks goes out to Marc and the entire Pants and The Family band.