Anyone who knows Buffalo-native Justin Gressley should not be surprised to learn that this super-tidy music nerd has founded a record label. We’re only surprised it took this long. Probably born clutching a limited edition Blur 7”, Gressley recently founded the Academy Fight Song label and released Purple Blaze. The solo acoustic debut from former Q and Not U singer Christopher Paul Richards, Purple Blaze sounds just like what you’d expect from a guy who used to make rock records for Dischord and now writes his songs wearing slippers in his bedroom. Purple Blaze is simple and sunny, content with whistling a melody where others would try to stuff in triangles and French horns. Those unfamiliar with Q and Not U will find a singer in the grand, high-pitched emo tradition. “Uh huh,” you say. “Every high-pitched male singer has got to be emo, huh? How glib of you.” Then why did the guy sitting next to me at work ask, “Is this the guy from Sunny Day Real Estate?” Check and mate. A generally solid debut for Ris Paul Ric, the album does feature the occasional misstep. The track, “Run Up Wild On Me,” was enough to make me get my wet hands out of my sink full of dishes to run across my apartment and skip to the next song. A shuffling, non-funk acoustic funk track, the song will make you imagine a world of Jamiroquai gone coffeehouse. In all, Purple Blaze is still a bold new direction for a growing artist, and would have been eagerly snapped up by many other labels had an ex-pat Buffalo son not gotten to it first and delivered it unto us.