NYS Music 202​2

Category: Regions

  • Hearing Aide: Harry Styles ‘Harry’s House’

    Welcome to the fuzzy synth, wet bass and glittery guitar that is Harry’s House. Superstar Harry Styles‘ third album release has some old formulas, new movement, and as always, a lot of falsetto. It shouldn’t surprise any fans that this record is also packed with mushy moments, breakup stories, and rather scandalous dirty talk, as this is Harry’s first record since landing his new lady Olivia Wilde.

    Even in the throes of a public relationship, Harry does not fail to bring a variety of influences and ideas into his music to create something that feels truly like home. 

    Harry's House

    Straight away, it is jarring to hear a brass band mixed into Harry’s energetic first track “Music For a Sushi Restaurant”. The masterful blend of disco rhythms and 80s influenced electronic elements creates the whipped cream that tops many songs on the album, including the pop marvel “Daydreaming”. This masterpiece of a track has an engaging hook that samples the Brothers Johnson and earns Quincy Jones a spot on the album’s writing credits. It’s clear that Harry Styles is doing his research into soul music, and songs like the sultry r&b number “Daylight” and the rhythmic “Grapejuice” have a modern, funky foundation to tie the album together seamlessly.

    It’s satisfying to see Harry take so many new directions, but what needs trimming are the formulaic songs that round out this album. The acoustic love songs surrounded by waves of harmony or the ambient breakup anthems are very familiar, and it seems the rock and roll energy we’ve seen in Harry’s 2017 title album is missing in Harry’s House. His live shows are a huge affair, and harder rock songs like “Kiwi” and “Only Angel” are the perfect choice for these live performances. As he rightfully progresses into funk, he shouldn’t retire his rock frontman persona just yet. This is a chain of many great albums to come, but let’s hope he dives deeper into the realm of brass funk, leaves behind the old successes, and gives us more of the modern rock and roll we need right now.

    Key Tracks: Music For a Sushi Restaurant, Daylight, Daydreaming

  • Marina Laurendi Romances On New Single “Gramercy”

    New York City-based singer-songwriter Marina Laurendi has released a new single “Gramercy.”

    A lush five-minute track, it’s the lead single for her debut EP Stay Mine coming this Friday, which will be accompanied by the release of a music video for the song.

    Encloaked in purple lighting, Marina Laurendi sings at The Bitter End in NYC.
    Marina Laurendi performing at The Bitter End in Manhattan. (Photo found on website)

    On “Gramercy,” Laurendi croons about an impassioned romance using New York City imagery. Taking an approach reminiscent of Lana Del Rey, a former Lake Placid native, she muses about kissing on the L Train and compares the euphoria of her bout of love to the heights of skyscrapers.

    Laurendi always returns to the song’s guiding analogy: the connection between her relationship’s vulnerability and the secrecy of Manhattan’s Gramercy Park. “You got the key to me, treat me like I’m Gramercy,” she sings on the infectious hook.

    Her lyrics paint a genuine and intimate picture, and Laurendi’s shaky vocals which never stray from technical peerlessness convey her ideas perfectly.

    The same can be said about the song’s musical arrangement which only moves her message forward. The track’s instrumentation varies across its runtime, featuring light chords on acoustic guitar and bright licks on electric, rich keys, pulsating violins, and a noisy organ in the song’s final seconds. “Gramercy” never overplays itself with all these components however, swelling and falling throughout its pop-oriented song structure in a way that stays true to Laurendi’s sentimental subject matter.

    No piece of “Gramercy” goes to waste, as Laurendi’s knowledge of her hometown and endearing vocals over a well-crafted musical backdrop contribute to a captivating love song and worthy lead single.

  • SNL Bids Farewell to Four Cast Members in Season 47 Finale

    Saturday Night Live closed the books on Season 47 on May 21, with host and native New Yorker Natasha Lyonne with musical guest Japanese Breakfast. The season finale of SNL also brought out a handful of cast departures, including Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney and Pete Davidson.

    snl season finale

    The cold open featured Kate McKinnon as recurring character Colleen Rafferty, recounting an alien abduction alongside Cecily Strong and Lyonne to Pentagon officials. McKinnon took this sketch as her swan song, bidding farewell as she boarded a spaceship, saying “Thanks for letting me stay awhile.”

    During Lyonne’s monologue, she mentioned her New York born and bred roots – raised in Great Neck, grew up on the Upper East Side – and mentioning how she has been working with SNL cast and alums for years, including Amy Poehler on Russian Doll. She was joined on stage briefly by SNL alums and friends Fred Armisen and Maya Rudolph who did their impressions of Lyonne, who herself has a Rodney Dangerfield style of delivery.

    For Japanese Breakfast’s first song, Michelle Zauner went with the rhythmic single “Be Sweet” off her 2021 album Jubilee, as neon bulbs hung down from the ceiling.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKvj4vs7ftc

    Weekend Update featured a pair of farewells, with Aidy Bryant saying goodbye next to her frequent sketch and song partner, Bowen Yang, and Pete Davidson, who reflected on his career at SNL and thanked Lorne for giving him a chance. Unfortunately left out of the sendoff mix was Kyle Mooney, who created numerous digital shorts and memorable characters over his 9-year SNL career.

    Davidson was also featured in the cut for time sketch “Forgot About Lorne,” a parody of Dr. Dre’s “Forgot about Dre” with Eminem cutting the pre-recorded sketch short to tell Pete to stop these parodies and not do them again.

    “Paprika” was the second song from Japanese Breakfast, with Zauner wearing a multi-layered white dress while she struck a gong encircles with flowers. as yellow lightbulbs hung down from the ceiling.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3mHfQgQY1M

    Zauner also appeared in the final sketch of the night, joining McKinnon and Bryant for a singalong of Joni Mitchell’s “The Circle Game” in “Women’s Commercial”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnOGSFV7154

    The season finale of SNL was a night of send offs and put a bow on an average season of the NBC franchise. Look back on all our coverage of Saturday Night Live this season here and share your favorite musical guest and sketches in the comments below.

  • Nerd Salad Drop Explosive New Single “Dogmeat”

    Brooklyn-based progressive rock band Nerd Salad has released a new single, “Dogmeat.” The song is the lead single in promotion of their debut album Press Start coming June 3, is the group’s first new music since their 2018 release Your Father and I Aren’t Angry, We’re Just Disappointed.

    nerd salad dogmeat
    Artwork for “Dogmeat.”

    “Dogmeat” follows a highly transformative structure over its seven-and-a-half minute runtime, going from basic verse-chorus format to instrumental breakdown before returning to its original melody in the song’s conclusion.

    The song’s dreamy opening riff gives off a nice warmth that contrasts the apocalyptic subject matter on the verses. “Our future is grim and bleak, all alone to find what you seek,” they sing in the track’s opening lines over a funky blues guitar rhythm. The song’s verses paint a detailed Mad Max-like picture of a world past salvage. “Found you in this desolate wasteland, digging through trash and scraps of old tin cans,” they sing in the second verse’s opening lines.

    The melodic chorus gives release to this tension, where all instruments crash together on top of the song’s defining words, “the ceiling’s now the ground, we’re all just dogmeat now.”

    The instrumental bridge after the third verse fully plays into the chaos described here, with a long disjointed guitar solo being paced by hyper-frenetic drumming. This part of the song keeps up with the track’s understanding of tension and release, as this section closes out with a heavy blues jam. We then hear the chorus one more time, reinforcing the song’s musical identity before the song’s outro.

    All members of Nerd Salad are very talented musicians, and while the song displays this clearly, no part of “Dogmeat” leans into self indulgence. This is even true during the “Paranoid Android” reminiscent freakout which closes the song, as every part of the track properly serves its purpose of detailing a world in havoc.

    “Dogmeat” is a creative and chaotic piece of progressive rock, and is a good sign of what’s to come from Nerd Salad next month.

  • Bacon Brothers Announce New EP “Erato”, Summer Tour Dates

    The Bacon Brothers have announced bi-coastal tour dates for this summer in support of their new EP Erato, to be released July 8.

    The tour includes three performances in New York, with the band stopping in Rochester for the Rochester International Jazz Festival on June 24, New York City at City Winery on the 25th, and Caroga Lake at Sherman’s Park on July 30.

    Top of the image: Erato. A crude drawing of a nude but covered woman sitting on a rock playing a zither, a harp-like stringed instrument, which is plugged into a Fender amplifier. Bottom: The Bacon Brothers.
    Cover art for Erato by the Bacon Brothers.

    Erato, the five song EP, is slated to be the brothers’ 11th studio release. They call their sound “Forosoco – a blend of folk, rock, soul and country influences.” “We’re still exploring the sound we began making 25 years ago; we’ve just gotten a lot better at it,” says Michael Bacon, an Emmy-winning composer whose found success alongside his brother Kevin, an A-list Hollywood actor.

    For the EP’s lead single, “In Memory (Of When I Cared),” the brothers collaborated with Desmond Child, a Songwriters Hall of Fame member whose credits include Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer,” Aerosmith’s “Crazy,” and Joan Jett’s “I Hate Myself For Loving You.”

    The Bacon Brothers also found collaboration from Kevin’s son Travis, who produced the track “Karaoke Town.”

    The Bacon Brothers Tourdates

    Jun 24—Rochester, NY—Rochester International Jazz Festival
    Jun 25—New York, NY—City Winery
    Jun 26—Atlantic City, NJ-–Sound Mind Music Festival
    July 14—Minneapolis, MN – Dakota Jazz
    July 30—Caroga Lake, NY – Sherman’s Park
    July 31—Waterville, ME – Waterville Opera House
    Aug 2—-Ocean City, NJ – Ocean City Music Pier
    Aug 5—-Plymouth, NH – The Flying Monkey (Rescheduled)
    Aug 6—-Brownfield, ME – Stone Mountain Arts Center (Rescheduled)
    Aug 7—-Beverly, MA – The Cabot (Rescheduled)
    Aug 24–San Juan Capistrano, CA – The Coach House
    Aug 25–Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern
    Aug 26–Agoura Hills, CA – The Canyon
    Aug 27–Napa, CA – Blue Note Napa
    Aug 28–Napa, CA – Blue Note Napa
    Sep 9—-New Braunfels, TX – Gruene Hall
    Sep 10–The Woodlands – Dosey Doe
    Sep 11—Lubbock, TX – Cactus Theater

  • Infected Rain brings “Ecdysis” Tour to Rochester

    Infected Rain is on a month-long US Tour in support of the band’s latest album, Ecdysis and performed at The Montage Music Hall in Rochester on Friday, May 20. With the band being from Moldova, an eastern European country that borders Ukraine and Romania, it is a rare treat to see them in the United States.

    infected rain

    The Montage had a good turnout for what ended up being just Infected Rain and supporting act, Gone In April. Three local bands were scheduled to perform, but due to unforeseen circumstances all of these acts dropped off. This made for what turned out to be an intimate, but in your face metal show that fans will surely remember.

    Taking the stage at 8:30pm, Infected Rain made their entrance to an energized audience that greeted them with applause and cheers. The band went right into full throttle mode with their hit “Pendulum” and while a smaller crowd, the band performed as if they were playing in front of thousands of people. The energy Lena Scissorhands puts off as she is screaming, and singing is captivating. You can tell she actually really enjoys performing with the constant engagement with the audience and smiled after hearing applause from each song they finish.

    infected rain

    I have been waiting awhile to finally see Infected Rain, and it was exciting to see them in a small intimate setting with not an overly crowded venue to really be able to appreciate the performance. It’s honestly one of my favorite things about The Montage, and I have seen several of my favorite artists perform there before they have really blown up in popularity.

    Infected Rain put on a fantastic 12 song set which included in my opinion, their best songs they could have chosen. Just about all of their songs are heavy hitting, in your face, make you want to mosh kind of feeling and the only disappointing thing about their set was that it was only 12 songs. This is definitely a band worth seeing, they are fun, energetic, and passionate when they play. Lena Scissorhands is a fantastic frontwoman that definitely gives off Tatiana from Jinjer vibes, and I mean that in the best way possible. Hopefully someday we can get a Jinjer, Infected Rain tour that comes to the US.

    Setlist: Pendulum > Mold > Black Gold > Longing > The Earth Mantra > The Realm of Chaos > Postmortem Pt. 1 > Passerby > Fighter > Orphan Soul > Fool the Gravity > Sweet, Sweet Lies

  • Ghost ‘Imperatour’ to Appear at Belmont Park’s UBS Arena

    Swedish rock band Ghost has announced dates for Imperatour, a trek across North America that features Atlanta metal band Mastodon as a special guest.

    The tour, which is in promotion of their fifth album released in March, Impera, begins August 26 in San Diego and finishes September 23 in Green Bay, WI. This includes a stop at Belmont Park’s UBS Arena in Elmont, NY on September 10.

    ghost imperatour

    Information regarding tour dates and tickets can be found on Ghost’s website.

    Produced by Klas Åhlund and mixed by Andy Wallace, Impera‘s subject matter focuses on the fall of empires. Upon release it swept album charts internationally, debuting at number one in five different countries including Sweden and coming in at number two in the U.S.

    Singles from the record also found commercial success, with “Call Me Little Sunshine” and “Hunter’s Moon” both hitting number one on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.

    Mastodon has had recent success of their own as well. Their ninth album Hushed and Grim, released in October 2021, debuted at number one on Billboard’s Hard Rock Albums chart and number 20 on the Billboard 200.

    Ghost Imperatour Tour Dates:

    Fri Aug 26 – San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena San Diego

    Sat Aug 27 – Tucson, AZ – Tucson Convention Center Arena

    Tue Aug 30 – Austin, TX – Moody Center

    Wed Aug 31 – Corpus Christi, TX – American Bank Center Arena

    Fri Sep 2 – Huntsville, AL – Von Braun Center’s Propst Arena

    Sat Sep 3 – Duluth, GA – Gas South Arena

    Sun Sep 4 – Asheville, NC – ExploreAsheville.com Arena

    Tue Sep 6 – Tampa, FL – Yuengling Arena

    Thu Sep 8 – Danville, VA – BLUE RIDGE ROCK FEST*

    Fri Sep 9 – Trenton, NJ – CURE Insurance Arena

    Sat Sep 10 – Belmont Park, NY – UBS Arena

    Mon Sep 12 – Providence, RI – Dunkin Donuts Center

    Tue Sep 13 – Bangor, ME – Cross Insurance Center

    Thu Sep 15 – Quebec City, QC – Videotron Centre

    Fri Sep 16 – Laval, QC – Place Bell

    Sat Sep 17 – Toronto, ON – Coca Cola Coliseum

    Mon Sep 19 – Saginaw, MI – Dow Event Center

    Tue Sep 20 – Youngstown, OH – Covelli Centre

    Wed Sep 21 – Peoria, IL – Peoria Civic Center Arena

    Fri Sep 23 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center** 

    *Ghost and Spiritbox only **Ghost, Spiritbox and special guest Carcass 

  • Beartooth Brings Below Tour To Rochester

    On Sunday May 1st, Beartooth brought their Dark Below tour to Main Street Armory in Rochester and they came with an incredible lineup. Upon arriving at the venue, a long long line of attendees were waiting to get in as this was definitely a show not to miss. If you were looking for Beartooth merchandise, the line was as long as the one outside.

    Erra, who hails from Alabama, started off the night right with lots of energy to get the crow moving. 

    ERRA

    After Erra, The Devils Wear Prada, a metalcore band from Ohio, took the stage next, who is probably the heaviest band on the tour.  

    The Devil Wears Prada

    Then followed up by them was Silverstein, who came from just across the border in Canada. They have played many shows, recently in Albany and will be back on tour in September. 

    Silverstein

    As the night couldn’t get any crazier, to finally take the stage, Beartooth. During setup, a white curtain concealed as stage hands worked to prep everything and when the band took the stage, after 20 seconds or so, the whole thing dropped and a roar came from the crowd. They played a good chunk of songs from their newest album Below but of course played many of their older hits like Body Bag which seemed to be a crowd favorite. Later this summer they The Ghost Inside, and Bad Omens support A Day To Remember on the Just Some Shows tour.   

    Beartooth

    beartooth

  • Restless World release lyric video for “Second by Second”

    NYC band Restless World Music have recently released their new single “Second by Second.” The group is no stranger to melodic beats and emotionally driven lyrics, as they blend different musical styles and carefully-chosen words into a restless whole.

    restless world second by second

    “These days I’m rebuilding my life / You could say I’m refilling my life” – how many have thought or said that over the past few years? So many self-empowerment songs make it all seem so easy – this song isn’t one of them.

    For many on the road from doubt and despair to self-appreciation, one’s “gotta fight for every inch” and “Second by Second” makes the joy at the end of the journey, and this song, so much sweeter.  “Second by Second” features stellar female vocals over an atmospheric fusion of trap, pop and a touch of jazz. 

    The lyric video for “Second by Second” builds on the song’s themes of rebuilding oneself after a crisis, and moving from doubting yourself to new heights of self-confidence. Produced by Restless World Music using Adobe After Effects software and a rich selection of 1080p video clips, the video delivers a cinematic feel that enhances the mood and meaning of the song.

    Restless World Music’s songs have earned awards from the Great American Song Contest four times and have been recognized twice as top-five songs of the month in online music magazine SongwriterUniverse.com.

  • State Champs Leap Back Into Focus with “Kings of the New Age”

    Albany pop-punk veterans State Champs have returned with their fourth studio album Kings of the New Age, a 35-minute montage of guitar-driven angst and lust that rarely slows down.

    Kings of the New Age is the first release by the band to feature only one guitarist, after Tony Diaz stepped away in 2020. Nevertheless, the group’s sound isn’t any smaller, with the other four members nicely filling in the gaps. This is aided by some tight production from California based Drew Fulk a.k.a. WZRD BLD, whose collaborations include Lil Wayne, A Day To Remember, and Ice Nine Kills. Cleanly mixed, the band’s full arrangement shines through on Kings of the New Age, with no instrument or vocal sounding unclear, choppy or overshadowed.

    While production does play a significant role in the band’s presence standing tall with a smaller lineup, credit has to be given to Tyler Szalkowski for his increased duties as both lead and rhythm guitarist. Songs like “Here to Stay” and “Just Sound” showcase guitar work that both maintains a loud presence while enhancing the song melodically.

    kings of the new age
    Cover art for Kings of the New Age.

    Lyrically the album generally focuses on topics of romantic lust and strife. “Being with you is like working on the weekend,” sings lead vocalist Derek DiScanio on the chorus of “Everybody But You,” the album’s lead single. Even though romance is a major focus of the record, songs like “Here to Stay,” which begins the album, reinforce the idea behind the album’s title. “The kings of the new age, the wrong time, the right place,” sings Discanio in the track’s opening lines.

    With State Champs entering the scene of pop-punk after the genre’s boom in the late ’90s and early 2000s and before its recent renewal with Machine Gun Kelly’s pivot towards the genre hatching new commercial attention, the optics of this timing might not be great, but they don’t mind. “On our own it’s safe to say, we’re here to stay,” DiScanio sings at the end of the opener’s chorus.

    State Champs attempt to reinforce this footprint on Kings of the New Age with four features scattered across the album, with appearances from Neck Deep’s Ben Barlow, Against The Current’s Chrissy Costanza, Nashville country pop singer Mitchell Tenpenny, and Four Year Strong’s Alan Day & Dan O’Connor.

    Each artist is given a bridge to sing or maybe a little more on the tracks which they have feature duties, which is something that holds back the effort and impact of these guest contributions. Chrissy Costanza’s contribution on “Half Empty” slightly stands apart in this regard however, with her bridge and chorus near the song’s ending adding another perspective to this track about a struggling relationship.

    And even though part of this album’s mission is clearly dedicated to not changing up the band’s formula, this leads to Kings of the New Age sounding repetitive at points. This is why slight deviations on songs such as “Act Like That,” which functions more as a straightforward pop rock track, and closer “Some Minds Don’t Change” with its loud, waltzy chorus are easily appreciable moments.

    Nevertheless, State Champs’ classic pop-punk formula works out well overall, with loud anthemic choruses and relatable melancholy lyrics shaping a strong album for the seasoned band. Kings of the New Age doesn’t reshape the punk genre or push too hard on any boundaries, but it’s good enough on its own to prove that State Champs deserve to hang around.

    Key Tracks: Here To Stay, Just Sound, Act Like That” (featuring Mitchell Tenpenny)