ALBUM REVIEW: Holus Bolus – Lord Buffalo
Hailing from Austin, Texas, LORD BUFFALO paint an incredibly atmospheric picture with their unique blend of Americana, gothic psychedelia and dark folk. Their 2020 debut Tohu Wa Bohu was a rich blend of a range of influences, mixed together to create a deeply cinematic record that saw them landing support slots with the likes of ELDER and CHURCH OF THE COSMIC SKULL on their subsequent road trips. The title of the band’s second album, Holus Bolus, comes from an antiquated 19th Century phrase meaning “all at once”, a fitting name given the breadth of musical styles presented across the album’s seven haunting tracks. That phrase suggests a bit of a mess, however, and this record is anything but that.
Starting with the title track, there is instantly a sense of the dark underbelly of America lurking beneath the distorted Wurlitzer-style keyboards that beckon us in off the dusty porch. The hanging, reverb-heavy guitars and percussive tom rhythms that follow welcome us further into LORD BUFFALO’s expansive, creaking home. The music, like the soundtracks of Angelo Badalamenti and Ennio Morricone, instantly evokes the expansive landscapes of the American West. The gothic-tinged vocals of frontman Daniel Pruitt are reminiscent of Nick Cave and suit the soundtrack perfectly, equal parts croon and snarl. By the time Patrick Patterson’s ethereal violin comes in for the choruses, we are well and truly at home here, a glass of something indescribable in our hands as we swing slowly on the back porch and gaze out at the endless night sky. And, all the while, in our peripheral vision, something dark, shifting and shadowy slowly approaches over the horizon.
That sense of unease is one that waxes and wanes brilliantly across this album, which really does feel increasingly cinematic as each song passes. Instrumental second track Slow Drug follows immediately on from the opener, bleak droning guitars and percussive piano interweaving with the repeating bass drum and tambourine patterns and building to a hypnotic crescendo. It’s a song that suggests whatever drink we were offered when we first arrived may have been laced with something a little more stimulating that we’d expected.
Passing Joy is perhaps a more straightforward slice of dark American folk than what’s gone before but is no less enjoyable or interesting for that. The vocal harmonies on the chorus add another layer of atmosphere to the song and Pruitt’s performance here, equal parts brooding Ian McCulloch and swaggering Michael Hutchence, elevates it even further. That the band can create such a deep, dark atmosphere without ever really resorting to hitting all their overdrive pedals is a real testament to LORD BUFFALO’s talent.
Malpaisano takes us out into the Texan desert once more, all distant feedback and twanging basslines while the delivery of the lyrics here is like Jim Morrison at his most poetic, although this is far darker than anything THE DOORS ever recorded. The instrumentation builds and congeals into a howling, mournful throb of synths and guitars that is both beautiful and frightening at the same time.
I Wait On The Door Slab is a swaying, stinging piece of music that balances floating synths and beautiful vocal harmonies with stabbing, distorted guitars and violins and a bubbling threat of violence that only comes closer and closer to the surface as the track reaches its chaotic, folk-doom coda. Despite the darkness though, it’s a strangely catchy number that only gets better with repeated listens. Album closers Cracks In The Vermeer and Rowing In Eden take a more epic approach, the former starting off like a slowed-down version of METALLICA’s The Unforgiven, while the latter is a seven-minute instrumental drone that once again is dripping with atmosphere and builds to a mysterious and bewildering climax.
Like the soundtrack to a David Lynch project that has yet to see the light of day, Holus Bolus is a haunting, nostalgic piece of music that draws on the darkest parts of American history and folklore to create a hugely rewarding and cinematic experience. Once LORD BUFFALO welcome you into their shadowy home, you’ll struggle to find your way out.
Rating: 9/10
Holus Bolus is set for release on July 12th via Blues Funeral Recordings.
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