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Snakefarm [Release date : 02.12.22]
The White Buffalo (aka Jake Smith) is hard to pin down. Aged 49, and hailing from the beautiful state of Oregon, this is his eighth studio album. So sustainability is not a problem. In fact he’s looking to build on a big YouTube hit pedigree over the years, recently including Problem Solution in 2020.
The Buffalo can sing. He can write a mean song. Good songs, good music, delivered well. However, he is described as country, folk, pop, rock, americana, hard rock – none fitting all that well !
To these ears he is accompanied by a kind of quirky, contemporary sound – not a bad thing at all, but not standard musical backing for these genres.
Production is by Jay Joyce who has superstar country credentials with Eric Church and Brothers Osborne.
Yes The White Buffalo is hard to pin down. The label Snakefarm itself is redolent of the swampy south, and I wonder if the title Year of the Dark Horse is in fact a self portrait.
Certainly the idea of the album is good. Four seasons sung in twelve songs. One year of life in the lyrics. A year of debauchery and blame, of love and loss, a life lived against the odds. Good year then !
If that’s not enough the album has a companion art film, little vignettes done by four different directors, each allocated a season in the year.
Buffalo is tuneful, tasteful and certainly well topped up with creative juices ! ***1/2
Review by Iain McGonigal
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12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
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