There is nothing quite like filthy sounding rock n roll. There is just something in it which makes you want to get up and just go ‘Fuck It!’, letting go of everything and letting the energy it carries make you enjoy yourself in whatever way the music and your mind can come up with. It’s even better when that rock takes on some stoner and sludge like qualities, sounding like a slower and heavier Kyuss. This points us towards Buzzard Canyon, who by their own admission are that 60 cycle hum from a Marshall stack which sends. Out the mountain shaking riff, which pushes the boundaries of powerful rock and roll into what is called Camaro Rock. With this trip, fuelled by “Hellfire & Whiskey” the Connecticut five piece are aiming high with their debut album. So jump in, turn the key, put your foot to the floor and drive!
It is almost impossible to not hear the desert rock influence in the sound of this band. It snakes its way through the entire release, helping dictate the feel, the tempo and the tone. Its got that crisp but fuzzy feel in the guitars along with the hypnotic drum feel and the vocals are clear but have that raw edge to them.
Opening track, “Highway Run” has plenty of swagger and thunder to its sound. The dual vocal approach works well, especially the rougher backing vocals which serve as a solid base for the main vocals of Amber Leigh to ring out with a lingering presence which catches your attention. Loaded with riffs and groove, it serves its function well, hooking you with the slick delivery and dragging you along for the ride.
The album flows on from there as you would expect. It’s pretty much dominated by the rock n roll groove, crisp riffs and big vocal performances, only the feel and overall sound varies from track to track. “Soma’Bitch” has a real murky feel to it with a slightly dark outlook and “Red Beard’s Massacre” has a real bluesy edge and feel, showing that it’s not just all about feel good sounds.
“Wyoming” has a real rocking vibe to it and some seriously fuzzy low end thunder and raw riffs giving it the muscle to match its tag of Camaro rock, bonus points for the great sounding middle section with a bitchin riff and cowbell use! “Louder Than God” has a real impressive instrumental section, complete with bitching solo laced with some trusty wah pedal based goodness to give it that distinct voice and the closing track “Not My Cross” mixes elements of the highlighted tracks here to give a real clear cut example of the sound Buzzard Canyon wish to show to the world, dynamic, controlled, raw and rocking!
Sure, it has its faults, the length of the album, 38 minutes means that whilst you can get good value out it, sometimes the tracks can blend together making you lose track of where you are, but this sometimes helps further enhance the experience in this type of genre.
In all, as far as debuts go, this is a pretty solid all-rounder with no real glaring faults or superior moments, it’s just raw rock n roll played with some kick to it! Get some hellfire and Whiskey to go folks!
(7/10 Fraggle)
Leave a Reply