King Buffalo - Orion


So, i did a thing. I bought all 7 King Buffalo albums because hot damn they are amazing. They're a Heavy Psych band from Rochester, NY. Predominant flavors of Black Sabbath and Mastodon float atop a sludgy doomy amalgum of stoner/space rock on their debut epic Orion. 

How in the world do you review it, though? I am at a loss for words. There have been quite a few albums i can't review. Blackstar and Sailing the Seas of Cheese spring to mind, but sometimes albums are so perfectly crafted that there is no real entry point, nothing that is not self explanatory, nothing to defend or criticize or contextualize; they are in essence perfect in and of themselves, and can only be experienced by closing your eyes and listening. 

I suppose what gives me most pause is that Orion is not in any way a debut album. I don't simply mean the mundane fact of their prior demo and split album with Lè Betre, rather that there is no "getting to know you" aspect to this first album. This is an album from a fully formed identity, a band with no questions about who they are or what they want. A band with no need for the machine, because in about 5 seconds you will either move along or buy their entire discography no questions asked like i did. 

Orion begins, follows its path, and ends exactly as it should, an unquestionably veteran work of art that dispels all external comparison. It is a fact of universal time-space, portraying overwhelming solitude in a vast and awe-inspiring universe. The fact that there are 6 more fills me with both giddiness and trepidation. Will i be able to say anything worthwhile, or will i just end up "omg, they're so good, i want to just not eat or drink and audio-OD and die"? I mean, it is what it is, and what a way to go, but i'm definitely having my Stan and Hayley moment. Hang your Morning Jackets back up in the closet, King Buffalo is my new drug of choice. If Jan. 17 wasn't a Tuesday i'd be driving 160 miles to see them live in Iowa City in two weeks.

Hopefully i'll have more to say about the Repeater EP tomorrow.

Repeater

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