Wyatt Coin ‘The Big Sound’ Rockshow Records wyattcoin.bandcamp.com Wyatt Coin is a down-home punk, country, and rockabilly quartet currently based in Buffalo. Formed in 2014, the band has since released an EP and two live albums, and has played the vans Warped Tour twice. Wyatt Coin’s first full-length studio album "The Big Sound" – produced […]
Album Review
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Album review: ‘False Pockets’
False Pockets ‘False Pockets’ Self-released falsepockets.bandcamp.com Formed in the summer of 2018, False Pockets features singer-guitarist Erik Happ, drummer Ben Chesnes, and bassist Zack Parker. The band is about to release its self-titled debut EP, a culmination of math rock songs created in less than two months. The album is an experimental story told mostly […]
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Album review: ‘Krypton 88’
Krypton 88 ‘Krypton 88’ Self-released Krpyton 88 on facebook.com The Rochester rockabilly raconteurs of Krypton 88 have really gone and done it now. I ran into guitarist Jim Via and he handed me the trio’s new eponymous record, which he kind of dismissed as “three old guys playing honky-tonk in the basement.” Age is arbitrary, […]
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Album review: ‘Steal Your Heart’
Sugar Glider ‘Steal Your Heart’ Self-released sugargliderband.bandcamp.com Rochester folk quartet Sugar Glider’s debut full-length album, "Steal Your Heart," is like an intimate backwoods bonfire with close friends gathered round joined in song. Utilizing the reverberating acoustics of the South Wedge Mission, the album features the core group of vocalist-banjoist Alison Lindsey, singer-guitarist Roxy Elahi, guitarist […]
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Album review: ‘Behind Closed Doors’
Lauren and the Good Souls ‘Behind Closed Doors’ Self-released reverbnation.con/laurenandthegoodsouls Wow, that Lauren Faggiano can siii-ing. She doesn’t lock herself in a particular register, and wails salty to the cheap seats. And whether she’s singing piano or forte, the lady manages both intensities on Lauren and the Good Souls’ new album “Behind Closed Doors.” The […]
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Album review: ‘Keep talkin’ ‘
Yoko Miwa Trio ‘Keep Talkin’ ‘ Ocean Blue Tear Music yokomiwa.com Over the past two decades, pianist Yoko Miwa has established herself as a top side-musician with Esperanza Spalding, Kevin Mahogany, Arturo Sandoval, and others. Miwa is also the leader with her own trio. The group’s latest album, “Keep Talkin’,” reinforces Miwa’s prowess as a […]
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Album review: ‘Samba Jazz Alley’
Antonio Adolfo ‘Samba Jazz Alley’ AAM Music antonioadolfomusic.com In the liner notes of his new album, pianist-composer Antonio Adolfo introduces us to an alley in Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana district that enchanted him in his teenage years. This “cauldron of jazz” led him to his life’s work — playing with singers like Flora Purim and […]
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Album review: ‘Elephino’
Elephino ‘Elephino’ Self-released elephino.bandcamp.com Local folk septet Elephino is celebrating its new, self-titled sophomore album, which was released in May. Featuring a lively mix of various stringed roots instruments, harmonica, vocals, and drums, Elephino puts a modern punk-bluegrass twist on traditional folk music. Vocalists Dani "Damnzel" and Tim Braley both sing with passionate, emotionally free-flowing […]
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Album review: ‘Fat Ol’ Rat’
Folkfaces ‘Fat Ol’ Rat’ Self-released folkfacesmusic.com Somewhere along the Erie Canal, a bit west of here, there lives a quartet of musical ruffians who call themselves Folkfaces. Comprised of guitar, saxophone, washboard, upright bass, and other stringed things, this Buffalo band of eight years has mastered old-time jazz with a progressive twist, and has a […]
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Album review: ‘Lemon Sucker’
Whirlin’ Jack Dervy ‘Lemon Sucker’ Self-released whirlinjackdervy.bandcamp.com Local singer-guitarist Nick Schaefer, better known as Whirlin’ Jack Dervy, has been fixated on songwriting since learning to play guitar at age 11. With a deep curiosity for the cohesion between lyrics and chord structures, he’s released four solo EP’s since 2015. Schaefer now performs with his backing […]
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Album review: ‘I Hate Me’
Taking Meds ‘I Hate Me’ Near Mint Records takingmeds.bandcamp.com A hardcore-emo quartet originally formed in Rochester in 2012 and now based in Brooklyn, Taking Meds offers relief for the angst-ridden soul. Featuring singer-guitarist Skylar Sarkis, screamer-guitarist Ben Kotin, bassist Jon Markson, and drummer Dan Abzug, the band recently unleashed its sixth release, "I Hate Me." […]
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Album review: ‘Ámbar’
Camila Meza & The Nectar Orchestra ‘Ámbar’ Sony Masterworks camilameza.com When Camila Meza moved from her native Chile to New York City a decade ago, she brought with her a wealth of folk tradition and a gorgeous voice. Since then, she has absorbed the best of New York’s musical culture and steadily risen in the […]
