Big Hairy Dude Jumping Around In Front Of Camera Is Most Entertaining Video Of 2016
Hooks, hooks and more hooks! That's the verdict after surfing the glistening sets of jangly rhythms rolling beneath The White Buffalo's new single, Modern Times. The L.A.-based trio clawed into mainstream consciousness via their soundtrack contributions on Sons Of Anarchy, but they've been around much longer, releasing a punchy, bourbon-marinated debut in 2002, followed by a deeply-engrossing trio of wistfully scuffed-up, shit-kicking EPs. Virtually all musicians hailed as great songwriters showcase a preternatural gift for spinning evocative and emotionally-pulverising yarns through the poetic economy of song and TWB vocalist/guitarist Jake Smith easily claims his seat at this table with dark, mournful sagas that drop listeners into deeply-absorbing vignettes of rogues, loners and scarred anti-heroes clinging to the frayed ropes of sanity in the bars, bedrooms and fringe towns of America.Their newest —and finest — release, Love And The Death Of Damnation, sees its UK release this week and though I first wrote that I couldn't find the US version, in fact it's available right here for all of you Spotify subscribers. The UK release includes a handful of extra tracks (lucky bastards), but US fans need not despair — this wholly arresting and utterly gorgeous clutch of whisky-soaked Americana will whisper sweet, sweet nothings to the darkest corners of your blackened heart.https://open.spotify.com/album/6h4xI9ztHRecvIT80mk8gWMy colleague Polly Glass rates Love And The Death Of Damnation as the one album to buy this week, should you only choose to purchase one album. Also, the making of the new album is chronicled in a ten-part web series Ernie Ball presents Capturing The White Buffalo: The Recording of an American Songwriter, which can be viewed at www.ernieball.com—with producers Bruce Witkin and Ryan Dorn, who also run Smith's longtime label Unison Music Group, with Witkin on bass and longtime cohort Matt Lynott on drums. I'll update when I get more info. In the meantime, clear away the tables and chairs, adjust your volume knob in the northerly direction and kick the tires on this magnificent belter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpaQP4aFAbg&feature=youtu.be
More info on The White Buffalo:
"I've always loved the combination of things that are really beautiful and things that are really dark or heavy. There's a lot of that on this album."
So says Jake Smith, singer, songwriter, guitarist and sole charter member of the White Buffalo. He's assessing his new album Love And The Death of Damnation, the most impressive manifestation to date of the richly evocative songcraft that's established Smith as a singular creative force. Over the course of five albums, various EPs, and numerous prominent placements in such high-profile outlets as TV's Sons of Anarchy and Californication, Smith has built a powerful body of work that marks him as a genuine original. The California-bred artist writes timeless, vividly detailed character studies, tapping into the emotional lives of various misfits, outsiders and troubled souls with insight and compassion. His songwriting is matched by his rough-hewn, deeply expressive voice, and by his distinctive instrumental arrangements, which are simultaneously intimate and epic. Smith's songs, and the White Buffalo's recordings, have struck a responsive chord with a large and diverse fan base, and won praise from critics across the media spectrum.
The White Buffalo are:
Jake Smith - Guitar/ VoxMatt Lynott - DrumsChristopher Hoffee - Bass