The Results “No, Really” Self-released facebook.com/theresults One of the jobs of a music critic, as I see it, is to rein in some of the hyperbole while letting fly with some of their own. However, in the case of Rochester’s The Results’ new album, “No, Really,” the band is way better than the hype. A […]
Rochester music
Posted inMusic
Album review: ‘Sit & Smile’
Willow Bay “Sit & Smile” Self-released willowbay.bandcamp.com Let’s see now: thickly chopped power chords; snotty vocals; clever songs; little or no excessive guitar noodling; accelerated tempo. Lemme guess, it’s the new Green Day. No? Then it’s the Foxboro Hot Tubs? No? This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but Rochester punkers Willow Bay’s “Sit & Smile” […]
Posted inMusic
Album review: ‘Algorithmic Soul’
Red Sky Lullaby “Algorithmic Soul” Self-released redskylullaby.com Red Sky Lullaby’s new “Algorithmic Soul” is the soundtrack to lunar-bound, waking dreams in all of its narcotic splendor and ambience. Red Sky Lullaby is the one-man-mission of producer Stuart Kilbride, who paints an infinite expanse of colorful wonderment. It’s chill and mellow to the max. But before […]
Posted inMusic
The Crooked North digs the dark dichotomy in bluegrass
The Crooked North blends bluegrass and old-time folk with a diesel kick that is both sharp and clean. It’s yesterday played today, and it comes on like a veritable freight train. But The Crooked North is playing with you. It candy coats its lyrical darkness in the light of its exuberant bluegrass. Bluegrass by its […]
Posted inSpecial Sections
A good time for peace on Earth
We say it every year, but we hope you take some time to relax and enjoy the holiday season. So much is crammed into a short two months — Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Solstice — and we know holiday overload and burn-out is real. Still, we’re sure you can find 20 minutes for yourself in […]
Posted inSpecial Sections
A winter blues playlist
Seven Rochester songs for a different kind of holiday mood
Posted inMusic
Album review: ‘Baby Brother’
Jon Lewis Band “Baby Brother” Self-released jonlewis.bandcamp.com The way the Jon Lewis Band puts the pedal to the metal on “Let Me Go,” the opening track to “Baby Brother,” its new release, doesn’t give you much time to get out of the way of the rest of the album, laying there coiled and waiting. There’s […]
Posted inMusic
Musicians fight back: protest songs from the first year of Trump
It’s been a long year since election night 2016, but musicians across the country have been saying “fuck that.” Check out a playlist of protest songs curated by alt-weeklies
Posted inMusic
Album review: ‘Stubborn Comfort’
Anamon “Stubborn Comfort” Self-released anamon.bandcamp.com It used to take a minimum of two notes to make a minor chord. It’s just simple theory; it’s the rules: a single note is neutral. That is, until it’s part of a scale or chord pattern — or until Anamon came along with “Stubborn Comfort,” its brand new, 12-song […]
Posted inMusic
Margaret Explosion has a Marshall plan
The neon flashed “Vacancy” after guitarist Bob Martin packed a grip and skedaddled west to Chicago, leaving a hole in the Margaret Explosion the size of space. The Margaret Explosion is known for its atmospheric, borderless seek and find, and Martin was an integral component. It is the perfect music, really; a narcotic moment in […]
Posted inMusic
Album review: ‘Wildfire’
Madeleine McQueen “Wildfire” Self-released madeleinemcqueen.com Singer-songwriter Madeleine McQueen packs quite a wonderful wallop on her newest EP release, “Wildfire.” You can hear her strength and resolve over the disc’s entirety. McQueen has a heartbreaking belt and sustain, and here she sings spot-on and flexibly gentle with a voice that first caught me completely off guard […]
Posted inMusic
Album review: ‘Around Your Neck’
Pink Elephant “Around Your Neck” Self-released pinkelephant.bandcamp.com Do you remember when the word “indie” meant independent of limits and associations and not a shortcut for calling something “weird”? If you don’t, then please let Rochester’s Pink Elephant explain by way of its new album, “Around Your Neck.” With just the right amount of chaos and […]
