Arts

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Dry Eyes for Bright Eyes

Artist: Bright Eyes Album: The People's Key Label: Saddle Creek Records Release Date: Feb. 15 Grade: C+ It began like any other Bright Eyes album ? a unique sequence of sounds preceding a quiet guitar riff, topped with the distinct, haunting vocals of Conor Oberst. However, a blasting voice with an inaudible drawl may not be the best appetizer to ease listeners into The People's Key, the band's highly anticipated seventh studio album.

For the Love of the Holiday

Love. It's funny how many different feelings that small four-letter word can evoke from us. It's intangible and indefinable, yet somehow we all know it when we feel it.

The Everyday Holiday

February is a drag; it's cold, it's dark, and we don't have any days off. Oh yeah, and the most absurd holiday of the year is upon us. The one day a year that makes card companies rejoice and males cringe with fear, Valentine's Day, is also in the month of February? in fact, it's today. I hope that this is not news to any of the current readers, and if so, good job screwing the pooch.

Who Will Copy Cut Copy?

Artist: Cut Copy Album: Zonoscope Label: Modular Recordings Release Date: Feb. 8 Grade: A Dance music freaks and indie-hipsters alike can rejoice over Aussie group Cut Copy's third studio album, Zonoscope.

M?Ure of the Same

Artist: Mot

A Week in Ink: Issue No. 15

DC Universe Online Legends No. 1 Comics and games often go together like peanut butter and marshmallow fluff, but other times, not so much.

Indie Games' Robotic Future

Angry winged rats and audiosurfing have occupied the indie gaming scene for far too long, but students and faculty here at UB have seen the future: robotic manservants. Take into account this backstory from a new online flash game called Robot Butler: in the grim darkness that is the future of human existence, humanity has become frail-minded and weak due to its mechanical minions.

Indie Pop and Everything Else

Artist: Hotel of the Laughing Tree Album: Terror and Everything After Label: Brookvale Records Release Date: Feb.

Kotchy on Cloud Nine

Artist: Kotchy Album: Two Label: Done Right Recordings Release Date: Feb. 1 Grade: B Brooklynite trip-hop producer Kotchy evokes an intriguing vitality in his uniquely titled second studio album, Two.

"Jam Club Affiliated, Universe Shark Preys Music"

Frank Santora, 25, of Buffalo, has undergone a transformation of sorts. "Universe Shark will swallow you whole, and when they spit you out, you'll be something new," Santora said last Friday at DBGB on Allen Street, while local jam band Universe Shark prepared to take the stage. Thankfully, nobody was literally swallowed whole that night.

A Bit of a Yawn-ni

Artist: Yanni Album: Truth of Touch Label: Yanni Wake Entertainment Release Date: Feb. 8 Grade: C- For those of you that were waiting, wait no longer.

"Little Concert, Big Cause"

"Come Dream with Us" appropriately reads the caption splashed across the promotional flyer for a tour featuring musicians hailing all the way from the rainy state of Washington. On their two-month "Winter Greyhound Tour," autococoon and 1985 will be stopping at Sugar City in Buffalo this Sunday to intoxicate music lovers with their sound and enlighten humanitarians. Caitlin Payne Roberts of autococoon and Matthew Fu of 1985 will perform alongside local musicians, Martin Freeman of Repeater and Joshua Lee Almendinger, in an effort to support Roberts' association with the Honduras Accompaniment Project. At the end of the tour in mid-February, Roberts is expected to attend training in San Francisco, Calif.

A Week in Ink

Teen Titans No. 91 Puberty is a rough time, especially for those whose weekend chores consist of saving the planet from total destruction.

Silverstein Screams for Buffalo

What would a band whose name was inspired by a famous children's book author sound like? Turns out, nothing like the whimsical and gentle poetry by Shel Silverstein. Five-piece post-hardcore/screamo outfit Silverstein has steadily been gaining popularity over the last decade.

A Battle Over More Than Music

As signed bands argue with record companies, unsigned bands engage in an equally difficult battle with promoters.

A Triumphant Return

Friday night showcased the necessity for a frontman that knows how to put on a live show, which is more rare now than one might think. One of the most diverse tours of the winter stopped at Water Street Music Hall in Rochester and left with the patrons begging for more. Anberlin, Circa Survive, and Foxy Shazam all brought their high-octane live shows, but only two of the bands were able to warm up the crowd and get it participating. Foxy Shazam is known around the underground as possessing one of the highest-energy and choreographed live shows in the industry, and it's true.

Chronicles of Narnia Exhibit Excites Fans in Buffalo

Whether they're loyal to the books, a fan of the flicks, or are just having a "Lazy Sunday," Narnia lovers will be captivated by The Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition at the Buffalo Museum of Science, a series of displays that will immerse them into a land they have all grown to know so well. Since the exhibition's debut in Buffalo last Monday, devoted fans of Narnia have found themselves on a pilgrimage to the Museum of Science to explore the world of their imaginations.

Bloody Good Time

Grade: A- Blood, guts and more severed limbs than an amputee ward; welcome to Dead Space 2.

Sharing is Caring

Album: Mine is Yours Artist: Cold War Kids Label: Downtown Records Release Date: Jan. 25 Grade: A- With major album drops from Vampire Weekend, The Black Keys, and Arcade Fire, there is no denying that 2010 was the year of the indie kid.

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