Buffalo Summer

30.08.2014

Having already booked to see The Treatment at 2 venues in October as Buffalo Summer are the support for that tour along with Massive, when it was also announced they were supporting Phil Campbell’s All Starr Band in August as well, I had to go along to hear them play live as I had heard a couple of songs and really liked them.

I haven’t been to The Joiners in Southampton for quite a few years. I had forgotten just how up close you are to the bands and how it is a great little venue in the heart of the city. There were four bands on the line-up tonight and although all of them were good, the only band I wanted to see was Buffalo Summer.

Buffalo Summer who are Andrew Hunt (Vocals), Jonny Williams (Guitar), Darren King (Bass) and Gareth Hunt (Drums) and are from South Wales, know how to put on a great show of rock with a bit of a bluesy sound, catchy riffs, soulful vocals, a little bit classic but very here and now with their sound. With a self-titled debut album released a couple of years ago, their set was a mixture of songs from that album with along with a few new ones from their next album which will hopefully be released early next year. Full of stage presence and with probably the best hair I have ever seen from a band, it was certainly a mesmerising performance from them and I was very pleased I had seen them live a couple of months earlier than I had originally planned.

Once their set was over it was over to their merchandise to purchase their first album as I definitely wanted to hear a lot more from Buffalo Summer and what a brilliant album it is. 10 tracks that rock from start to finish with not one track that isn’t epic. Thumping beats, a seductive rhythm, gritty riffs and a blues-tinged vocal all combine to make this album instantly addictive, 3 hours later after the gig I was still playing it on repeat.

The opening track She’s All Natural starts off the album with a blast of rock, powerful vocals with edgy riffs, which carries on in songs such as March Of The Buffalo and Ain’t No Other. Down To The River is so damn catchy that it soon becomes a favourite. Typhoid Mary has pounding drums that perfectly compliment the vocals. Truth From Fable and Rolls On Through groove through each song with an excellent rhythm throughout. Keep On Runnin’ is full of a gravelly riffs and A Horse Called Freedom has a delicious slightly southern-tinged sound. Ol’ Duke perfectly ends the album with a classic riff sound and a classic rock style, a reminder of times when rock was very much dominant. The whole album has a number of styles that run through it and every song offers the listener something different, it’s a mixture of contemporary with old-style, blues with rock but with an inventiveness across the songs that makes for a truly outstanding album.

Buffalo Summer sound great live and sound great on the album. I definitely recommend you see them on their upcoming live dates and also check out their music as like me you are going to want to hear a lot more of them. I can’t wait to see them again on the road in October.

The website for Buffalo Summer is http://www.buffalosummer.net where you can buy the album, catch up on news and their live dates. They are also on Facebook, Twitter @Buffalo SummerUK. You can hear their great sound on Spotify and they are also on iTunes and Amazon so plenty of places to get to know the band a lot better.