Rock duo Bite the Buffalo have released their 3rd studio album ‘Bad Habits’. A band of brothers hailing originally from Scotland Bite the Buffalo are a garage rock band with an edge that derives from their rich cultural background. In their career thus far, they have held the support slot for many major bands Fat White Family, Happy Mondays, The Growlers and Skindred to name a few. They have also graced the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury 2013 which in turn drew the attention from Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant who invited the band to join him at a sold out Manchester Apollo gig.The BBC support has continued into 2019 with their latest release ‘Get Back Up’ receiving radio play. The band have also secured a number of media partnerships already, including the likes of Channel 4 Motorsports, Go Pro Highlight Reel, Formula 1 Highlights and Tattoo Fixers.
‘Bad Habits’ is a swagger dripping, brawny yet slick collection of garage rock that frazzles through steam scorched riffs and pummeling rhythms. These guys slap on some bluesy soaked suaveness through the short intro ‘The Man’ as a dragged beat thuds through a vaporous guitar refrain. The tracks that follow this introduction are brimming with anthemic beefy rawness in a The Black Keys- esque style with a Bite the Buffalo’s stomp. ‘Get Back Up’, ‘Dee Zeez’ and ‘Game On’ keep the energy of the album at a maximum while they flesh out their abrasive garage rock sound. While ‘Deja Voodoo’ dissolves in a haze of dreamy psychedelic bliss, cooling the tone of the album as acoustic guitars strum through a steady beat while the warm vocals coo through the sweet melody. Here this duo prove not only can they whack out cracking heavy tunes they can chill and mellow things out, refining and cooling their sound into a dazed sway-able groove. The fuzz-filled gritty ‘Shoot Shoot’ has an air of Royal Blood wafting through the edgy guitar riff. The track sizzles with a funk hue, shuffling rhythm and catchy as hell chorus. Bite the Buffalo simmer things down with the slick ‘Reverend Revolver’ and its sensual groove, vaporous guitar lines and infectious backing vocals (which remind me of The Good The Bad and The Ugly theme tune). Their vigorous sharp edged musicianship continues with ‘I Wanna CU Again’ and ‘Recent Times’. However ‘All Them Guns’ brings a freeing 60/70’s hippie vibe to the album with twanging guitars, soft vocals and lush harmonies. It feels like this duo transport you back in time with their psychedelic tinged soundscapes and smooth instrumentation behind quite striking lyrics. Bonus tracks ‘Lucky Roller’ and ‘Fire Dance’ are contrasting pieces of finesse. The former, features shredding guitars crashing and weaving nimbly between punchy drums and Mark Bolan- esque vocals while the latter jingles along with a mysterious eerie tone, elegant piano feature and a graceful tempo that gives us a glimpse of the grander side to Bite the Buffalo.
Bite the Buffalo showcase some varied tunes throughout their ‘Bad Habits’ album. Garage, stoner rock, punk and some psychedelic flavours are drizzled throughout but all this hangs together beautifully with the sleek musculature and acrobatic riffs weaving a firm thread through the album – its impressively crafted.
Stream ‘Bad Habits’ below
