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Friday, July 3, 2015

"Five For Friday" with Jesse Kaufman of Tomoreaux

Since 2011 Buffalo NY band Tomoreaux have been creating music that is novel, engaging and unique as their beautiful songs combine aspects of post rock, shoegaze and indie pop. Guitarist/Vocalist Jesse Kaufman shares some of his favorite tracks in this weeks edition of "Five For Friday" but first enjoy the bands latest single "Bennington".

Slowdive "Alison"

I guess we'll start off strong with what I honestly consider to be a perfect song. Whether such a thing exists is up to you, but don't decide that until you listen to Slowidve's "Alison." From the modulated chords to Halstead's calming, hushed vocals, and Goswell's gorgeous harmonies, both vocally and instrumentally, this track epitomizes the shoegaze genre. The production, is something to behold as well. The faded, washed-out haze is a trademark, taming Slowdive's unhinged noise into something a bit more accessible, while retaining the raw beauty of Halstead and Goswell's pedalboards.

Mogwai "I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead"

This is a tough one to write about because, well, it's Mogwai. What else do you say? It just is. One of the more obvious influences on Tomoreaux's sound, Jim Morrison is one of my favorite Mogwai cuts. It's powerful, crushing, really; an emotional locomotive of a song. This video, from the film "Burning," does the song justice as well, showing clips from fans' reaction during the performance. I guess it's really what all bands of this sort aspire to do, myself especially.

Daniel Johnston "True Love Will Find You In the End"

A bit of a sharp left turn here, but something has to be said about this track. It's one of those songs that you can't really appreciate unless you know a little about the artist, but I'll let you do that research on your own. Such a beautiful, positive song from such a tortured soul. Though it's been covered by everyone from Beck to Wilco, nobody will ever be able to do the song justice. It's impossible.

Sleepy Hahas "Deep River"

Being from Buffalo, we have a very strong tie to our fellow local bands. Honestly, the Buffalo scene is incredible, and it's ridiculous that not many people outside of it have picked up on that yet. There's a wealth of hidden gems here. One of those hidden gems are becoming not-so-hidden recently. Garnering some well-deserved attention, Sleepy Hahas are one of my personal favorites, probably because I love the Flaming Lips so much. Just released a few weeks ago, Butler et al have created the perfect marriage between the menacing, psych-tripping of Embryonic era Flaming Lips and pop-sensible Arctic Monkeys. Seriously, listen to this.

The Smiths "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want"

You won't really hear their influence on Tomoreaux's music as much as say bands like Sigur Ros or Explosions in the Sky, but the Smiths have been one of my favorite bands since high school, and have no doubt shaped the way I look at music. As you can imagine, picking one Smiths song is a daunting task; it's taken me hours to narrow it down. But, "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" has been a song I've always just subliminally connected with for such a long time. It has a special place in my heart. Although it's one of the group's shortest songs, it's still retained one of the most lasting impacts. Bottom line, it's just an absolutely gorgeous composition.

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