Album review: THE WHITE BUFFALO – Darkest Darks, Lightest Lights

Earache Records [Release date 13.10.17]

The White Buffalo – aka the West Coast based singer songwriter Jake Smith – is an artist whose musical light and shade mirrors his dichotomous view of the human psyche.

He’s both an observatory lyricist and a fictive narrator, for whom a mix of outlaw country, soulful and bluesy arrangements are an adjunct to his lyrics, which range from the noir filled to the heartfelt.

His lyrical and musical contrast is writ large in the aptly titled ‘Darkest Darks, Lightest Lights’, as his search for the middle ground takes him into the darkest corners of the human psyche, but also touches the deepest emotions.

He opens with the leisurely count-in of ‘Hide And Seek’ and finishes with the metaphoric yearning of ‘I Am The Moon’, as he takes us on a musical journey that reveals different layers of the songwriter himself.

He’s offers dark, but perceptive stories and irony filled narratives, counterweighted by compassion and love. Such is his lyrical self confidence that he thinks nothing of shifting his focus from the uplifting feel of ‘Avalon’ to the sharply contrasting Tom Waits style deconstruction of ‘Robbery’, voiced over a descending bass line and an atmospheric tremolo.

There’s also ‘Nightstalker Blues’, a tale about the “summer of Satan’” and a So-Cal serial killer, as he rocks out in a harp-led bluesy vein on a mixed back song that focuses on the wall of sound rather than instrumental separation.

And it’s his contrasting subject matter – voiced in a gruff baritone over a shifting musical backdrop – that makes this album more interesting than the usual run of the mill country rock-into-Americana style album

On ‘Avalon’ he evokes both Michael Stipe and Springsteen, while his Stipe style quaver also gives the country twang of ‘Border Town/Bury Me In Baja’ enough emotional depth to make it a notable highlight.

The Boss also looms large on the splendidly titled, live in the studio ‘The Heart And Soul Of The Night’. Smith’s poetic imagery and a sense of a bigger picture serves him well, as he sings: “And that what’s the weekend’s for, searching for the heart and soul of the night.”

His songs move from detached pessimism to first person heartfelt acoustic ballads such as ‘The Observatory’. He digs deep for emotion and feel with cleverly crafted paradoxical lyrics, while ‘I Am The Moon’ comes with a full string arrangement and some close to the mic baritone phrasing.

Smith’s willingness to expose his own fragility draws the listener in and offers a perfect book-end to the album. It also suggests that beneath the sometimes brash exterior, there’s an expressive lyricist and emotive singer who is unafraid to cut through the grey and dive into the ‘Darkest Darks’ and ‘Lightest Lights.’ ****

Review by Pete Feenstra

Pete Feenstra presents his Rock & Blues Show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio every Tuesday at 19:00 GMT, and “The Pete Feenstra Feature” on Sundays at 20:00

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

Next session: Sunday 19 January

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 1 December 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 3 December 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)