Some say music journalism is dead in this digital age, but ultimately it is still exposing great bands to the masses, albeit sometimes in inadvertent ways. Case in point: A few weeks back Pitchfork reviewed Dude York’s new album Falling, with less-than-favorable things to say about it. When they tweeted out the review, the ‘Fork (maybe?) tried to be slick and not get the attention of the Seattle band by failing to tag them. But Dude York noticed it, and fired back “@ us next time cowards”. That exchange caught our attention (and plenty of others), and it led us to discover one of the best guitar-rock albums of the year. Fast forward through the changing of a season and several Falling spins later — especially the title track, a cruiser of an alt-rock jam rife with youthful nostalgia that’s a surefire Song of the Year contender — and Dude York are in town tonight (September 17) playing ONCE Ballroom in Somerville. We’ll be sure to @ them.