Imagine, if you will, the offspring that would be conceived by a three-way between A Perfect Circle, Spiritual Beggars and Mastodon. That’s pretty much what we have here, and it’s wonderful.
Living Ghosts (Fuzzorama) is the second LP from Vancouver cab torturers We Hunt Buffalo. They bill themselves as exponents of “Dirty, Grimy, Fuzz Rock” and they ain’t lyin’, brother. Well not about the fuzz, anyway. Whilst the eponymous first album ticked all three boxes, Living Ghosts has had a lot of the dirt polished off, and sounds tremendously better for it. With fatter bass and some actual use of the mid sliders, the upgrade from self-production to a full studio producer (Jesse Gander of Rain City Recorders) is telling. It has transformed this band from local battle of the bands runners-up into a serious prospect for tours with the likes of Baroness, The Sword, Kvelertak or even the mighty Mastodon.
The first track ‘Ragnarok’ is a beautiful, expansive extended intro for the majestic prog of ‘Back To The River’, ‘Prairie Oyster’ is a sludgey fuzzfest with huge echoey vocals while ‘Hold On’ backs off the fuzz for a return to the prog vibe featuring a strident guitar line and choral vocals that are simply captivating.
‘Comatose’ features a riff that’s inexplicably (and pleasingly) reminiscent of Big Country. ‘Fear’ is a slow stoner classic and ‘The Barrens’ gives us more country vibe, opening out into what’s clearly their stoner/prog comfort zone. ‘Looking Glass’ is a very on-trend 60’s homage (complete with Hammond organ) that leads us to the last track of the album: ‘Walk Again’ – an introspective piece of shoegazing that, given the strength and context of what’s gone before manages the small miracle of being engaging and fitting rather than tedious.
A theme running through this album is familiarity – it gives the feeling even on first play-through that you’ve rediscovered an old favourite. Sombre yet uplifting, distorted yet clear, it delivers an almost transcendent experience that very few bands can manage.
If you’re a Canuck, you’re in luck – these guys are stomping the hell out of the home grounds. I hope those of us in the rest of the world are lucky enough to see them on tour some time soon.
8.5/10
PHILIP PAGE