Thunder Buffalo

Kids over at Ongakubaka turned me on to this. It's great. I couldn't be more bored with this bullshit where everyone tries to sound like Safe As Milk and totally blows it, but these guys seem to have a worthwhile perspective on it. There's some obvious stompers, and there's some definite middling songs...but hey, dudes, the wheel is the wheel. If you're going to claim you've made a huge improvement on it, it should still at least roll.

This does. Get it. - Ace Frehley For President

The psychedelic garage rock sounds of Thunder Buffalo are courtesy of one man tour de force Aaron Schroeder. Not only did he write all the songs and play all the instruments himself, he recorded, produced and mixed the entire album as well. A true labor of love, Thunder Buffalo’s self-titled debut album is a fuzzy, swirling slice of unrestrained rumble rock with a danceable backbeat. While the distorted, monotone vocals can be indecipherable at times, they fall perfectly into place within the slinky, 60’s rock vibe and the loose, loungey feel that Aaron creates. Thunder Buffalo’s sound is like one of those garbled radio stations you find on a road trip that never quite comes in totally clear, but still manages to give you enough beat, melody and emotion to grab your attention and makes you a little sad when it’s gone.

Whether it’s the pounding gallop of “Middle Of The Street” or the reverb heavy stroll of “This Is My Life,” Thunder Buffalo waits no time and no sounds in getting the point across. Forget long winded intros, indulgent solos, or vocal gymnastics, these songs are meant to start a party and make you move one way or the other. Song titles like “BeBop Sing-A-Long,” and the Wizard of Oz inspired “In The Valley Of The Scarecrow” let you know that there’s some uncharted musical territory just waiting for you to stumble upon. The 11 tracks on Thunder Buffalo clock in at just under 33 minutes, which is just enough time to hook you and then leave you wanting more. With Aaron's musical output frequency thus far, I'm sure there's more fuzzed out, static-laced ditties to look forward too in the near future. Since recording this album, Aaron has rounded up a few folks (Andrew Greagor on drums and Branden Kempt on bass) and taken Thunder Buffalo on the road. While I can’t imagine the live performances sound exactly like the record, I can’t imagine you’d stopped being mesmerized long enough to notice or care. - My So Called Soundtrack

This is the perfect follow up to the the sleazy, grimy, groovy garage-blues theme we started with the Archie Bronson Outfit earlier. Because yesterday on the other side of the pond Thunder Buffalo released their self-titled debut album. We've already posted about these guys following first news of the album and the advance release of fuzzed up rock'n'roller Bebop Sing-A-Long . Now we have another track to tempt you with, the equally good Gloomy In Us All . Hopefully it will be enough to encourage you to [...] - Mad Mackerel

I was kind of kicking myself the other day for not having gone out to the Cha Cha Lounge to see Thunder Buffalo this past Sunday night. Their self-titled album has been rocking my world of late, but apparently not enough to get me out on a school night. Lucky for me that they have a few gigs scheduled in the next two months.

The band are based here in Seattle by way of Austin and are a combination, of parts Thirteenth Floor Elevators, Gallon Drunk and Thee Oh Sees. Main Buffalo Aaron Schroeder, the Austinite, has kind of a dark and mysterious voice that has elements of Nick Cave and Jim Morrison. They released their debut album digitally late last year, but this week sees it get the physical treatment. The album will send sparks out of your music player in whatever format you may favor with it’s in the red distortion and overmodulated vocals. You might think, with song titles like Hymn of the Devil, In the Valley of the Scarecrow and Holly Ghost Haunt that they’re goths. They may be, but they’re definitely more the salt of the earth kind who also know how to have fun. It’s not all fire and brimstone, there are also magic carpets in Gloomy In Us All and BeBop Sing-a-long takes a trip to a bunch of local bars and has a rollicking good time. Thunder Buffalo are a magic carpet ride of down and dirty lo-fi mayhem. - Finest Kiss