Buckra

The Cincinnati area has a long and illustrious history of producing bands with a particular talent for hedging their guitar rock bets with a foundation of pure ass-out funk and soul. On the harrowing side of the equation, you'd find the histrionic magnificence of the Afghan Whigs; on the lighter end of the spectrum, there's the soulfully amped-up smirk rock of the Royal Crescent Mob. Queen City quartet Buckra tip toward the latter on their second album, So Many Weapons, incorporating hip-hop cred (Dylan Speeg's mad rhyming skills reign on the self-referential "Bubble Gum Bandit" and the rump roasting "Shake Your Baby Fat"), punk/pop energy ("Smoke Signals") and a little something the band calls lounge-core, which variously offers up Middle Eastern surf guitar, jazzy blues and swinging bursts of anything else they feel like throwing into the stew ("Whisper in my ear", "Sweet Face"), Buckra may be all over the map but with their great musical compass, they rarely get lost. - Brian Baker

Buckra Ready Steady Go In Camouflage

Let's get it outta the way fast. Buckra's self-released Camouflage Playboys International sounds completely retro. But that's not a put-down by any means.Emulating a bevy of lovingly remembered ‘70s rock luminaries, the affable Cincinnati combo refry Black Oak Arkansas' mindless boogie, Wet Willie's Southern-cultured white soul, Atlanta Rhythm Section's rural funk, and Robert Palmer's primordial R & B artfulness. Eclectic indeed, but Buckra's sharp interplay and taut arrangements give the flawlessly executed tunes a versified validity. Hand-clapped choral-chanted juke joint opener, "Andy's Room," slips into a snappy jazz interlude that then imbibes the bluesy title track's swooning saloon slunk. Sneaking Kings Of Leon's contemporary blues-rock skronk into a scrappy rockabilly groove, orchestral cow-punk scorcher, "Crash And Burn," takes us on a contagious love-stung whiskey-bent venture. Whiny harmonica teases anguished dirge, "Bad Idea," a swampy Delta blues brood in search of an understanding vixen, as well as full-on Southern rock boogie tilter, "Beautiful Thing." A slick jazz-tinged whimsicality infests "Moon" and foments snubbing hook-filled jubilee "Stop (Calling Me Names)." Even easier to consume, "Don't Fight" registers with a top-down summer drive breeziness so familiar you'd swear it's from a Z-grade drivein movie or a long-lost Little Feat album. Could greater exposure be far off? - John Fortunado

"Never turn your back on a good time cause it might not happen again," warns Buckra frontman Dylan Speeg. It's good advice. Sounding like Glenn Danzig singing for Royal Crown Revue, Cincinnati's Buckra are the kind of band who understand that tonight is way more important than tomorrow. In other words, this is not the kind of outfit who'll pack it in early-these guys will close the bar, wear out college students and drive home happily by dawn. Put together with sly humor, swinging swagger and true rock and roll nerve, the quartet's debut is a hell of a good time. Much to suggest here: There's bluesy punk ("Cruelty") rock and roll jive ("Beautiful Thing") and straight up urban grind ("Stop"). "If you've got some issues/And a full box of tissue/I know an alcoholic who can help," Speeg sings on the swinging punk number "Andy's Room." Okay, so maybe he'd be a bad choice for a therapist, but somewhere near three in the morning in the sweatiest bar in the city, he's the guy you want with the mike dancing on the table. - Alex Green

Admit it - in this ever-evolving, always advancing world, music doesn’t always keep up the way we think it should. But Buckra, with its swinging grooves and rockabilly/old school virtuosity, knocks the half-hearted bands off the stage and into the wings.

Rising from the gloom of America’s Bible Belt (Cincinnati, Ohio), Buckra is anything but Bible thumpers. Nah, these guys trudge through the layers of bullshit and grab at the heart and soul of music, leaving what’s left over for the less enthusiastic musicians to dig through. Not versed in sophistication, this is a majestic project that wallows in the glorious world of back woods brawls and beers.

Their live shows are hailed as jumpin’ jivin’ good times, and you may even have to pop some uppers in order to keep up with their reckless nature. But hey, do whatcha gotta do to make it through! - Rachel Heisler

Buckra—Camouflage Playboys International (Detonation Laboratories) lounge swanky and barnstormin’ the beat to make the ladies squeal, this rowdy Cincinnati quartet features one of the fastest, slickest set of pipes in the “cocktail nation” in showman Dylan Speeg, a must-seek all-night party destination that enlists homeboy Justin Jeffre of 98 Degrees to blow harp on two tracks - John James

'Weapons' of Ass Destruction
Booties will no doubt be shaking to their demise..
Weapons, the quartet's sophomore full-length, is a frolicsome, aural tickling session, loaded with amusing couplets and a musical playfulness that could bring a smile to the face of even the most bitter music snob. The band's genre defying and whimsical bent would be a disaster in most hands -- Barenaked Ladies have taken similar ingredients and ended up with a steaming-hot bowl of diarrhea. Buckra have a musical tactfulness that keeps them from even approaching "joke band" status. And their original arrangement skills and solid chops help maintain a relative cohesiveness from start to finish.

Like the self-crafted album cover suggests, Buckra is indeed cartoonish. But it's a damn good cartoon -- more Simpsons than Looney Tunes. It's the band's explicit gift for detailing that makes them miles beyond mere goofydom. Weapons has innumerable great moments within the individual songs, resulting in an album that offers something new with each listen. Weapons is the perfect album for the ADD generation, roaming freely between Hard Rock, Hip Hop, Swing, AltRock, Latin and Jazz. The ace rhythm section of Chris Lenehan and Andrew Laudeman provide a fluid yet sturdy base for Buckra's diverse, groovecentric style. Jacob Heintz has evolved into one of the best guitarists in the city, though he nobly shows off his talent by writing creative parts that best fit the songs and not simply whacking off.

In Buckra, each member is an indispensable cog in the machine. But singer Dylan Speeg brings the band its strong personality, with his lyrical come-ons and catcalls painting him as a combination street-corner pimp/late-night piano-bar huckster. Vocally, Speeg is like a cross between The Cult's Ian Astbury and Sammy Davis Jr., turning on the Full Rock Power when appropriate, yet still capable of slinking into a velvet croon without so much as a flinch. Offstage, Speeg is one of the funniest people you'll ever meet; in the band context, that cleverness helps make him one of the best frontmen in the city as well. - Mike Breen

NXNE
Buckra
Bovine Sex Club
June 5, 2003

“This is our first time in Toronto, but I feel like I’ve already been here because of Degrassi High”, Buckra’s lead singer announced before the first note was struck, and an approving buzz floated throughout the crowd. With electrifyingly catchy tunes and hints of funk blended with upbeat rock, along with a frontman who knows how to shake things up, this Ohio band showed Toronto a really fun time. With an interesting twist in their music and an amazing stage presence, Buckra helped keep the night alive.
- Liz Worth

Buckra - Fall of Porkopolis
Cincinnati's foursome Buckra gives a wild kick and a spit in the eye to any sense of normalcy in the pop rock world. But considering what a lot of that normalcy has produced over the years, that's actually a good thing. Think a little of the Bosstones without the horns and with cleaner vocals. Add in a bit of Run Westy Run, B-52's, Dead Kennedys and you get an idea of some of the influences, but the music hops back and forth, keeping a certain distinguishable undercurrent that assures you it is the same band. Take the brash punk sound of "Dirty Mirage" and compare it to the frenetic jazzy lilt in "Trophey Song." But then comes the near heavy-metal guitar riff laden "Ransack" which is closely followed by the gin-house blues of "Lawn Man." Sounds hard to pigeon hole into one genre, doesn't it? But in order to pull off this kind of mishmash, you have to have several elements, primarily players with talents, solid lyrics and well-written songs, and this band has all three. The lyrics tend to be tongue-in-cheek and that even adds more spice to the music. It is a trip where you don't know what your next destination will be, but you'll probably have a good time when you get there. - Dane Jackson

BUCKRA
CAMOUFLAGE PLAYBOYS INTERNATIONAL
CINCINNATI, OHIO
August 2008

With a vital energy and inventiveness missing from modern good-time music, this produced-but-not-overproduced album is a reminder that studio trickery can only do so much and will never replace a band which is truly on fire. This is a rock ‘n’ roll disc which borrows heavily from swing, jazz/R&B; sometimes sounding like the Cult covering Billie Holliday, the voice weaves the spirit of cool through the constantly changing chords, glued tight as the drummer commands the rhythm. “Never turn your back on a good time,” they say, and this seems like the perfect reasoning for checking out this Ohio quartet on their website at www.buckra.com. — Benjamin Hunter - Recoil Magazine

Buckra - Camouflage Playboys International

In times of sour thoughts and negative emotions, turn to Buckra’s “Camouflage Playboys International.” Cincinnati, Ohio, brings to us a very refreshing and playful band that is ready to take the scene by storm with some wailing funk rock.

Vocalist Dylan Speeg has a potent voice perfect for the songs that Buckra creates. Amid the jamming and the swinging, Speeg sings with such incredible swagger. The title track is the best example of how Buckra’s attitude gets to the core of what music should be.

Above the incredibly catchy music, Buckra’s lyrics paint quite the picture. Tracks such as “Crash and Burn” are vivid in words, which adds to their amicable quality. Furthermore, the album hits almost every possible tempo. While “Bad Idea” is a slow Western croon complete with the guitars and harmonica, the transition into “Beautiful Thing” is fast-paced and suspenseful. The entire album weaves in and out with the pace, and the time with which the ten tracks play goes by very quickly.

“Camouflage Playboys International” is Buckra’s third album, and the band has perfected their concoction of swaggering gypsy rock. There is a lot of soul in what this band has created, and it also has the potential to get listeners up and swinging. With a creation like “Camouflage Playboys International,” it is hard to listen to the album and stay in a bitter mood.

Reviewed by: Lisa Kwon
Date Reviewed: 2008-07-27
- Music Emissions