Whereas the
Orphan Brigade went on location to Kentucky, Italy and soon-to-be Ireland,
Buffalo Blood travel deep into the wide-open expanses of New Mexico, with a
particular focus on the indigenous people who bring a distinct flavour to the area. Across fifteen tracks that form the content of this
self-titled album, the project sweeps through a land of mystique, intrigue and
affliction.
Creativity runs deep in the production (steered by the widely
acclaimed Neilson Hubbard) with repetition used in tempo, whistling and
chant-inspired segments. Amidst the little intricacies lie a number of
conventional songs frequently driven by mandolin that provide a commercial edge to the album.
While being
a fan of Owens, Hubbard and Britt in their previous roles acts as an advantage,
there is still a fair amount of work required to grasp the complexity of this
record. There is likely to be a bulk of information published about this
project relating to the inspiration, meaning and artist interpretation, so
maybe a little listener introduction can find a spot.
Buffalo
Blood is the debut release from Eel Pie Records and noticeably will only be
available on double vinyl and digitally. An interesting signal to the
future of the CD. While the physical format has certain predetermined markers,
there are also indicators when listening to the fifty-three minutes via the other
medium. Chunking the tracks into equal thirds proved a handy method. There were
dedicated markers in Hubbard’s tender offering ‘Daughter of the Sun’ at position five and a vocal-free instrumental
piece titled ‘Ghost of Wild Horses’ ,
complete with further whistling, settling neatly at number ten. The latter providing
a suitable resting place before the album finale kicks in.
Dean Owens
is the most familiar of the vocal offering, apart from the gorgeous ‘White River’ beautifully sung by Audrey
Spillman. Her only other major input was sharing verses with the others on ‘I’m Alive’, one of five Owens solo
writes and probably the standout song from the opening third.
The song
writing overall takes on an egalitarian role with all three main players
submitting solo writes alongside numbers credited to Owens/Britt, Owen/Hubbard
and Hubbard/Spillman. The latter brought us the aforementioned Spillman number (a real husband-wife effort), which probably shares top mantle in the middle
third with title track ‘Buffalo Blood’,
a more upbeat piece that would flourish in the role of album focal point.
The final
third presents more of the same including whistling, chants and further deeply
excavated songs that require several listens to grasp fully. Maybe, album
closer ‘Vanishing World’ possesses
the most explicit message. It is awash with poignancy and interpreted points
like can we co-exist.
Underpinning
the whole record is the location and the inspiration of the people, land, sky
and life. While the album is not overtly long, its playing time is packed full
to the hilt that you feel it is much longer (not meant to be a slight). There
is an epic feel to the record and exploring it is akin to diving into a new Tom
Russell record. Although you would not expect anything less when
musicians/artists/songwriters like this collaborate.
The
intended audience for this album is always going to be niche though one with a
finely tuned ear. The sheer quality injected into the process that shines
through in the finished product is a selling point on its own. Chasing popular
appeal is not on the agenda, but who says that popular appeal should not chase
what is good! The genre-less status of Buffalo Blood makes it ripe for
Americana love, and dependent to which angle you look at it, the UK and US
operations may come running.
Indulgent
or masterpiece, take your pick, though why not be a bit of both.
