Buffalo, NY is a place most apt at conjuring up images of fat football fans, snowy blizzards, a floundering economy, and homegrown terrorists (Both Timothy McVeigh and the "Lackawanna Six" grew up only ten minutes from my house).
I will not deny that there is truth behind these stereotypes, but there is so much more as well. Despite people there being a bit closed-minded at times, they are some of the nicest I have ever met. In addition, Buffalo's summers are beautiful, Toronto's jazz radio comes through crystal clear, and it has one of the most authentic art scenes in the country. Art house director/actor extraordinaire, Vincent Gallo, is a native Buffalonian, along with several notable musicians including the Goo Goo Dolls, Natalie Merchant, Ani DiFranco, Snapcase, Cute Is What We Aim For, and Passion Pit's Mike Angelakos. Despite this impressive list, some of Buffalo's best talents have remained more obscure, one of which is the dream pop/experimental act, Mercury Rev.
This band has had a long, impressive history filled with several critically-acclaimed albums and a constantly changing style. Less known than The Flaming Lips, there is probably no other band more similar in spirit and sound. Early on, Mercury rev reveled in crunchy, distorted guitar work and less-than-conventional song structure. As they grew older, they left some of the more traditional dream pop behind and embraced the tricks and subtleties that only a studio could provide. Their most famous album, Deserter's Songs, showcases the band's more pop-minded tracks, though there remains a hint of their more noisy and discordant beginnings. Here are the recs:
Albums: Deserter's Songs (1998), Boces (1993), Yerself is Steam (1991)
Tracks: Tonite it Shows, Endlessly, Goddess on a Highway, Holes, Opus 40, Bronx Cheer, Coney Island Cyclone
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