Style: Desert Rock (Clean vocals)
Review by: Tyler
Country: U.S
Release date: August 21, 2020
In my not-so-long tenure of spitting words out on the internet about obscure heavy music, I’ve learned two things. The first being that bands with ‘horse’ in their name are usually rad (this is a universal truth), and the second is that desert rock is my new mistress. So, imagine my luck that a new series by the creatively named Desert Records began with the sole intention of telling stories of the American Southwest while featuring bands of the region titled Legends of the Desert. Cool idea! The first one is here and is split between Denver’s Palehorse(!)/Palerider and Austin’s Lord Buffalo.
Palehorse/Palerider takes the first four songs of the split with a more traditional interpretation of the genre siding more in a more droning and gloom feel. The meat of their offering lives in the two middle songs “Badlands” and “Lament”. Coming in at around twenty minutes, it’s a really well done meat and potatoes sample of what we should all expect from a project like this. There are a lot of clean vocals, washy reverb layering that really help nail the droning that we all want, and a tempo that likely doesn’t exceed 80 beats per minute. I have a massive soft spot for this sound. I love when a band’s aesthetic can paint a clear landscape in my head, and anytime I hear this, it warms my cold, Wisconsinite heart.
Of course, nothing is without faults. As much as I love a great crescendo that takes it’s time to fully explore an idea, these songs drag in spots, Lament more than Badlands for sure. Either way, this is not a listen for the impatient. The other glaring nitpick that persisted throughout this side of the split was the snare drum. Absolutely everything is drenched head to toe in reverb and decay, except the snare. It is dry as a bone, and giving it some of the sauce would have helped blend into the overall sound a bit better.
Onto Lord Buffalo!
This is actually Lord Buffalo’s second release this year, the first being their March release Tohu Wa Bohu, which offers a much different but just as valid sound, opting into a much more punchy and driving flavor of the desert. The Crappalation Butt Rockers (their words) actually do deviate a tad from the sound of their full length on their five part “Noetica” here, however, deciding to go a bit spookier and brooding. Featuring a lot of harmonized chanting and haunting strings that make you think that you’re being cursed by the desert itself. I also appreciate the amount of actual melody that the guitar provides. The big soundscape-y wall is great, but ear fatigue is a thing and will sneak up quick. Lord Buffalo eases things and provides a lot of quiet moments that allows for some breathing room, but also warns that there’s probably a ghost on that mountain.
You’ll notice in this review that I am not picking out specific songs or moments. That’s not because that would be more work and I am lazy (although you have two correct assessments there), but instead because I feel that’s not what desert rock is about. It’s music about the big picture, not how cool that riff is. It’s hitting play and not stopping until it’s done, and that’s really the best way to experience something like this. The two bands make a super cohesive album that fits the aesthetic perfectly, while having unique identities at the same time. There is a quote about the series from Desert Records that reads “These songs and tales are not the the same ol’ perspective of the white, male Cowboy”, and it’s a bit heartbreaking. Albums like Odyssey to the West and A Fistful of Poison are great and fun but there is a sense of sincerity that’s missing. Those are songs about people, and the message here is about the desert itself. It’s cool that there will be six more of these too, each one featuring new artists telling the stories only they would be able to properly tell.
Recommended tracks: Just listen to it all at once
Recommended for fans of: Earth, InTechnicolour, when Inter Arma gets soft on us
Final verdict: 8.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Palehorse/Palerider Bandcamp | Lord Buffalo Official Website | Palehorse/Palerider Facebook | Lord Buffalo Facebook
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