Alive Naturalsound blog
New album "Let It Ride" OUT NOW If I Get Myself Anywhere from the album "Let It Ride" | Buffalo Killers debut album here
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New album "Let It Ride" OUT NOW If I Get Myself Anywhere from the album "Let It Ride" | Buffalo Killers debut album here
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American rock 'n' roll has retreated to the depths of the underground. For the bands that continue the time-honored tradition of smooth talking swagger and stiff lipped cool, they exist only in the eyes of the people who have discovered their clandestine reverberations. Cincinnati, Ohio's native Buffalo Killers struts with the moan of a blues-laden trio who mix vintage tone with growling guitars to formulate passionate testimonials of lost love, desperate aggression and reckless endangerment. It is the underbelly of American rock 'n' roll, and with the release of their sophomore album, Let It Ride (released July 8 on Alive Records), the Buffalo Killers have been hatched upon the age in a time of desperate need. Sleek in a tattered way and possessing a ferocious assault, the Brothers Gabbard (Zachary - bass and vocals, Andrew - guitar and vocals, joined by Joseph Sebaali - drums) have channeled a wrinkled, raspy-toned muse who was too purposely intoxicated to catch the train of trend. This is a story about defiance and destiny, the snarling moan of a scene crawling beneath the bustling avenues. - Martin Halo / JamBase The first of two superb releases heading out of the Burbank, California imprint Alive that we’ve managed to nail in recent weeks from our local dealer that frankly you should invest the time in trying to track down as your own. Damn fine smoking bliss out grooves is in abundance on the second full length from Cincinnati trio Buffalo Killers. Having just completed a short stateside tour with the Black Keys and with planned prestige support slots with the Black Crowes scheduled in the fall, ’Let it ride’ is the bearded ones follow up to 2006’s self titled debut full length - which annoyingly we appear to have missed. Blending lazy eyed chilled blues motifs, Southern breeze accents and softly woven psychedelics, Buffalo Killers sound like they’ve woken from a prolonged acid induced coma and in so doing have missed the musical landscape changes of the last 35 years, their collective heads still tuned into an era still recovering from the Altamont fall out, Easy Rider and the whole latent counter culture vibe and the Vietnam war. Blessed with some superbly exquisite production by Dan Auerbach at Akron Analog, ’Let it ride’ is pristinely crafted in a decadent retro vibe that seriously wouldn’t look amiss amid a record collection boasting a garage / rock / psych purists smattering of key late 60’s and early 70’s recordings. Freewheeling between a melodic tapestry that’s as equally at home carving out mellowing AOR nuggets (as on the middle America embracing ’heart in your hand’ and ’give and give’ which to these ears sounds like a shyly retiring Buffalo Springfield shimmying with Guns ’n’ Roses) and bitching blues grinds (as on the upbeat power driven boot stomping pedal to floor road blues beauty ’on the prowl’ with its drop dead cool Stones riffage or the subtly sexually charged Zeppelin like ’it’s a shame’ with its bourbon soaked gridlocked grinds and impeccably distilled Detroit garage flair), Buffalo Killers may just have turned up the trump card with ‘Let it ride‘. Reference points are obvious - between the lazy hazy grooves you’ll hear the aural apparitions of Cream, Neil Young (Buffalo Springfield) and Mountain swirling and echoing in the mountain range breezes, yet scratch a little deeper and the unmistakable undercurrent of laid back blues dialects hint towards an overt fondness and admiration of Zeppelin’s first opus - none more so is this the case on the aforementioned ’it’s a shame’ and ’take me back home’(a proto ‘misty mountain hop‘ killer - yes we know it was from Zep‘s ‘IV‘ before you all start writing in complaining). Elsewhere the gorgeously wrapped sultry mirages of feel good vibes work on the nervous system like some super potent prozac and seem a tad restricted from the comfort of a hi-fi appraisal rather more you’d feel better served finding a beaten up convertible throwing down its hood and letting rip through an endless horizon of wide open picturesque freeway. Case in point the hip grinding sexuality that literally seeps from ’if I get myself anywhere’ - a sumptuous honky tonking road blues babe that nibbles at the Faces while ’leave the sun behind’ is just simply classy - a moon shining and mooching cutie that slithers and side winds amid flotillas of countrified pines, its warm like radiating cruise controlled casualness deftly set upon the driving southern styled motifs casting a strangely trippy hue to the proceedings. ’Black paper’ wraps up the set superbly with its softly bathed 60’s speckled lysergic psyche mindset - best described as imagining Baby Woodrose freebasing on Free. All in all once on the turntable turn up loud, light up a spliff or two and simply tune out. Killer stuff. The Buffalo Killers sound like the bastard sons of the James Gang and the Black Crowes. But like both bands, the Buffalo Killers come by their sound naturally. It's organic, dripping with down home funk. It's groovin' - oozing with soul, draped in grittiness and filled with tasty, but not overwhelming guitar licks. The band's sophomore set, Let It Ride, is one of those records that's a perfect soundtrack for your weekend afternoon, whether it's tunage for a road trip, something to kick back to while enjoying a beverage or music to pump you up for a night out on the town. This record hits on all cylinders and will definitely require repeat listenings. - Willy Wilson / Real Detroit Weekly Buffalo Killers are from Cincinnati, Ohio, which sounds about 300 miles from where they should be from (123 Main Street, Cincinnati is 271 miles from 123 Main Street, Nashville) but it begins to make sense when you consider the Black Keys are also from Ohio and that bands' bearded front man, Dan Auerbach sat in the producers seat on the Buffalo Killers' Alive debut, Let It Ride. To say that Buffalo Killers sound like the whiskey soaked, seldom groomed older cousins of Kings of Leon is to only consider one aspect of Buffalo Killers. Granted, "Get Together Now," is an undeniable country burner and the video showing the brothers Zachary and Andrew Gabbard and drummer Joseph Seballi on stage, on the road, drinking, smoking and wearing bell-bottoms doesn't do much to make you realize these dudes are more than just dirty country revivalists. The Let It Ride LP dabbles with the blues and psychedelia as creatively as it re-interprets slide guitar lines. "Let It Ride," shows the band has spent some time with Jimmy Hendrix's Band of Gypsies and there are songs on the LP that show a full soaking in the song-writing of the Grateful Dead, Charlie Parker, Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams. Like all good country music, there is a full awareness of the music that has gone before while showing a unabashed willingness to take those rules and fuck with them. Buffalo Killers are on tour now and with the Black Crowes this fall and seem to be on the road to realizing the lyrics to "If I Get Myself Anywhere" - "I'm a travellin man just pushing ahead, if I get myself anywhere bet you I'd rather be dead, if I get myself anywhere. And we're a travellin band looking for a bed, we're not trying to fight you we're just starvin to death, looking for a bed." Amen.- Christen Thomas / RCRD LBL Smoking hot, seductive, slow roasted, and nurtured by the tonal fuzz of Black Keys guitarist Dan Auerbach, the Buffalo Killers are proving to be the black knights of rock’s new doctrine. They are an outfit that bares the scares of an industry littered with instability at the hands of the decline of record sales, the emergence of the new revolving pop, and the death of rock n’ roll. It is in this environment that rock’s new order thrives. For the Cincinnati, Ohio natives, their brash gritty expulsion of road warrior glory comes at a time when the tradition is in its most dire hour. Their sophomore LP Let It Ride still holds on tight to the influences of Cream, the harmonies of Neil Young and the Beatles, as well as incorporating the slow sustained fuzz of swagger-driven solos. Recorded in Akron, Ohio and a liner note nod to Black Crowes frontman, Chris Robinson, the recording sports ten songs of oozing rock glory. Even though production credits and the tone of the record come from Auerbach, the song structure is directly influential from that of the Black Crowes. Meaning, the songs, though not longer in 5 minutes in length, linger, relax, and meander in the heart of the groove. “I cannot sit well / can’t you tell, can’t you tell/ my ears are ringing like bells,” sings Zach Gabbard in the LP’s opener “Get Together Now Today.” It is riff based blues with thick phrases being laid down with the tension tug of molasses. “Let it Ride” follows with the full essence of rock n’ roll combined with the lyrics of slap stick hooks. Lines like “We are a traveling band / looking for a bed / we are not trying to hurt you / we are just starving to death,” relays the story, while Joseph Sebaali’s drum work is particularly impressive and loose. Additional song standouts are “Black Paper” and “Take Me Back Home” which reminds me of the Beatles White Album staple, “Yer Blues.” - Downtown Money Waster "Get Together Now Today" gets the album off to a good start. It is a rootsy sounding song with some heavy-duty groovaliciousness. A few things are readily apparent about this band. First, they believe in reverb. Big time. Secondly, it sounds like this band was raised listening to James Gang and Grand Funk. Buffalo Killers has one thing in common with Grand Funk: the sound seems like it's being produced by more than three guys The band brings not only a big sound, but also a good energy to this recording. It's pretty clean and gives a great idea of what the band is all about. "On the Prowl" is one of those songs you want to play in the car with the volume cranked up and the windows down. Yes, even if it's only 40 degrees. This is a solid album, especially if you are a fan of reverb-drenched groovy classic rock. There aren't any tracks you'll want to skip. Oh, and if you are a fan of Black Crowes, Buffalo Killers will be touring with them later this year. My advice is to put this on, crank up the volume and let the sound surround you. And make no mistake, the sound will surround you. - Gary Schwind / antiMusic Do my ears deceive me, or is this some long lost T. Rex track? Has Rolan Bolan been holding back on a treasure trove of sweet boogie oogie laid down by his late father, the great Marc Bolan, before his death? If it's not T Rex, then it has to be an old dusty groove done by Joe Walsh, or Grand Funk Railroad, right? Wrong, wrong, and wrong. If the id3 tag is to be believed, "If I Get Myself Anywhere," comes from the second album by Cincinnati long-haired, retro-rockers, Buffalo Killers. While everything about this cut, from the laid back Southern charm of the main guitar riff, and the sly, shuffling drum beat, to the velvety vocals, say all-request classic rock request hour, it's a product of the modern age. With the help of the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, who helmed the producer's chair, and who knows a thing or two about creating a retro-fantastic vibe, Buffalo Killers managed to avoid the riff by numbers trap which has been the downfall of many a retro rocker, and instead created something authentic. Well, maybe not quite authentic, after all we're some thirty years beyond AOR. Still, at the very least, "If I Don't Get Myself Anywhere" is one of the best damn approximations of the Seventies AOR sound around, and that's no small feat when you're treading on such well worn ground.- I Rock Cleveland
What the band does have is a real knack for evoking the more melodic mid 70's album rockers like Grand Funk and Free, bands who took their cues from the aforementioned forefathers and injected a sense of pop melody into the heaviness. Though in all fairness Buffalo Killers do scatter a bit of country charm into this heavy blues plate, giving them a nice psych-country bent at times as well. Now I mean these comparisons in the best of terms, hell I love Grand Funk, and would highly suggest that the band look into covering "Nothing is the Same" if at all possible during their live shows. Buffalo Killers have folded their influences and obvious affinity for 70's rock into their sound without coming off dated or overly derivative which is often a hard thing to do; instead sounding like a long lost classic which if you're a regular reader you know is something I can't resist.- Raven Sings The Blues Sometimes we hear music that looks like it was hatched from a 1993 Nirvana egg and sounds like it spent some time mowing Jerry Garcia's lawn before going on tour with the Black Crowes and recording an album with one of the guys from The Black Keys. Except for the Nirvana Egg and the lawn mowing (which we made up) Buffalo Killers make that music. They're well worn—treading a path of plodding bass and fuzzy guitars that we've been down many, many, many times before, and their harmonies are recognizable from we don't know where but somewhere familiar. We'll spare you any more comparisons to other bands, because you'll come to those conclusions real quickly yourself, but sometimes you hear a song and it's fun to listen to and that's all. - The Fader
The Buffalo Killers, another band on the rise from the Ohio rust belt music scene, play a wonderful stew of music, clearly inspired by the classic blooze rock of the late ‘60s and ‘70s. At different times, the group’s sound can be both psychedelic and southern fried. One thing’s for sure: It is almost always hard, heavy and crunchy, carrying on a great classic rock tradition at a time when we need it most in this era of half-baked indie pop. - Nonzine Cincinnati I have a soft spot for bands that really get me into the classic, groove rock 'n' roll with heavy blues influences. Remember, I grew up on a lot of Clapton (Cream, Blind Faith, Derek & the Dominoes, solo work), Traffic and Zep. So I think that's one of the reasons I got so hooked on The Black Keys (who put on one of the best live shows I've ever seen). And Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys produced the new record by Buffalo Killers. It's called "Let It Ride" and it's ridicuously good. - Vanessa Franko / Press Enterprise Cincinnati has done it again. The Buffalo Killers have come out with the recent explosion of band like the Black Keys and the Afghan Whigs from the Ohio capital. Let it Ride, the follow-up to their debut album Buffalo Killers, is a continuation of the Buffalo Killers' developing style from their former band Thee Shams. With gritty guitar work and snappy drum fills, Let it Ride escapes the curse of producing the same album twice by expanding the horizons of the Buffalo Killers' music. - Heave Media The Buffalo Killers narrow their range and sharpen their sights for their sophomore set. Riding roughshod over R&B, in a distinctly late '60s/early '70s vein, the trio create an album that's mostly down-beat and bad-tempered. That's evident from the get go, as the band launch into the anti-unity "Get Together Now Today", a song which musically nods to both the Rolling Stones and Cream. That number sets the stage for the rest of the set, with its mid-tempo rhythms, murky production, and down and dirty delivery. The title track is even more ramshackle, deliberately so in order to capture the jammy feel of the period, while "It's a Shame" is so intense, one could swear it was recorded live, accept it wasn't. The production blurs the edges of all the tracks, suggesting the band is either trying to recreate the muddy sound of period bootlegs, or have spent too much time listening to them. Either way, it gives Let It Ride a surprising authenticity, even when the Killers occasionally wander into other fields. "Give and Give", for example, features bright harmonies and lustrous acoustic guitar, bringing a touch of '60s folk to the set, while "Heart in Your Hand" tips a hat to the California scene. "On the Prowl", in contrast, stalks around a honky-tonk. Yet even these excursions enfold R&B into the brew, while other numbers are tinged with psychedelia or in the case of "Black Paper", progrock, with the vocals adding a touch of glam to the mix. The lyrics are awash in melancholy, with loneliness strewn throughout the set, and lyrics that suggest the band are grappling to express inexplicable emotions. The strong melodies and occasional anthemic choruses, however, act as a counter-weight for a heavy set of hard-rock delights. - Jo-Ann Greene / All Music Guide I hate waking up from a wild ride the night before. And it's morning, the hot sun blazin' its way through the window that you've still forgot to buy blinds, curtains, etc. for! Either way, wake up, hit the back patio, take your shirt off, sit in the sun and roll one up and work that farmer's tan off you back. The cooler's always still cold so you keep stickin' your hand in it...to "chill down" so to speak. Tilt your head back, thank god that someone invented sunglasses, and let the Buffalo Killers blow with the breeze. This is Ohio on a hot July morning. We trip in cornfields, not movie theaters! The BK Killers are the most god's honest extension of The James Gang that you'll ever meet!! Tits to Joe Walsh and all, but he fuckin' joined the Eagles and that's a stain that you can never wash out. But folks!, if you enjoy your hippie filtered through the midwestern Ohio industrial wastescape, the Buffalo Killers are for you. Think...Blue Cheer, Jefferson Airplane, and even Frigid Pink!! Roll one and go pick this up!!! - Andy Breighton / The Neus Subjex Buffalo Killers did not jump on the bandwagon with Jet, The Darkness, and all the others. They waited it out and created an album that truly captures the Zeppy-Hendrix-Skynard sound of the late '60s and early '70s. - URB After the release of their debut album, Cincinnati PsychPop trio The Buffalo Killers found they had fans in high places. The Black Crowes took them on tour (they'll be back out with them this fall) and Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys signed on to produce their sophomore album, Let It Ride (they've also done several tour dates with the Keys). The new album is due in stores next month, but the band is hosting a CD release shindig at Covington's Mad Hatter Saturday for local fans. Moon High and The Lions Rampant open. Let It Ride will please fans of the Killers' self-titled debut, but that album served as more of a retro-tinged introduction. This time around, the trio revels in their talent and sounds more comfortable in their sonic surroundings. The approach is still lively, catchy, primal and analog-natural - it's one of those records that could have been made 35 years ago, devoid of all the production tricks and treats that make so many albums sound so horrible these days. This is the sound of three guys gathered around a drum kit, not a computer. "Leave the Sun Behind" and "If I Get Myself Anywhere" pick up the psychedelic melodicism of the debut, with strong but not obvious hooks buoyed by the band's trademark swampy, bluesy strut. "Give and Give" is a love-child anthem built partially on acoustic guitars and a tribal rhythmic pattern, sounding a bit like Syd-era Pink Floyd. - City Beat French review on the Gonzai site. - Little Johnny Jet / Gonzai
Who knew Ohio was so cool? Cincinnati has become something more than the home of the largest Oktoberfest in the U.S. with the recent success of Ohio natives Afghan Whigs and the Black Keys. An explosion of aggressive guitars, throbbing drum beats and boogie bass work has come out of the Ohio capital, giving it a couple cool points. The Buffalo Killers, riding the aftershocks of their previous band, are the latest addition to the Midwest fad. The Cincinnati trio, made up of brothers Andrew and Zachary Gabbard and Joseph Sebaali, originally played in the band Thee Shams for almost seven years before creating their new band. Though the band has only been together for two years, they've already gotten some decent gigs opening up for the Black Crowes and the Black Keys. Where Thee Shams was into rough guitar work combined with southern rock, Buffalo Killers bring back the feel of rock and roll that our parents use to get high to in their college dorm rooms. It's a throwback to the days of classic rock but mixed with something new and modern, escaping the niche of a novelty act. Their self-titled debut is an evolution of their work in Thee Shams. From the slow jam opener "San Martine Des Morelle" to the bluesy garage rock track "Children of War", Buffalo Killers fail to disappoint. Thee Shams' garage rock roots are still evident during Buffalo Killers, however the brothers Gabbard and Sebaali spin off the genre by adding a wah-wah pedal and some major guitar fuzz. Andrew Gabbard's voice rips through the guitar distortion on tracks like "Fit to Breathe" with such force you think he's going to pass out at the end of the song. Their most recent release, Let it Ride, continues where Buffalo Killers left off, with the title track featuring both brothers screaming "Let it ride" backed by Andrew Gabbard's tantalizing guitar and Sebaali's forceful drums. The featured single "Get Together Now, Today" off of Let it Ride inspires images of driving a vintage Mustang on a dusty highway after a bad break-up. It has less distortion than some of Buffalo Killers' other tracks, but it's stripped down nature makes its message that much more potent. Zachary Gabbard lays down a slinky bass line for Andrew to jam to as he sings, "I do not sit well, can you tell?" It's a great opener for Let it Ride and an even better example of who the Buffalo Killers really are. - Amy Dittmeier / Heave Media The Alive label introduced us to the Black Keys and resurrected rarities from MC5 and the Stooges, so Buffalo Killers seem to suit it perfectly. They succeed at everything that Kings of Leon and other bell-bottomed, nostalgic beardos only try to. Crossing 1970s Laurel Canyon rock with a slow James Gang groove, the band’s Crazy Horse-style jams are sure to appeal to the denim warriors and the legions of the beaded and bearded, while production from the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach is spacious and warm, matching the band’s slow groove perfectly. - Johnson Cummins / Montreal Mirror |
