Garage rock fans of every stripe grieved at the news that Thee Shams had called it a day after the 2005 release of their thunderous Sign the Line. In fact, the Cincinnati quintet wasn’t breaking up so much as reconfiguring; brothers Zachary and Andrew Gabbard pared the group down to a trio, with keyboardist Joey Sebaali moving behind the drum kit and Zachary picking up the bass. Thus reconstituted, the threesome christened themselves Buffalo Killers and headed to ex-Afghan Whigs bassist John Curley’s Ultrasuede Studios to create the slowburn fury of their eponymous debut. From the slinky, psychedelic blues riff of “San Martine des Morelle” and the Stonesy slide lightning of “The Path Before Me,” it’s apparent that Buffalo Killers are working a slightly more sophisticated and yet still viscerally powerful angle on their debut. Although Thee Sham’s Sign the Line hinted at this direction last year, the Gabbards and Sebaali are clearly energized as they roar through this lysergically-tinged set of garage blues nuggets like Cream and Crazy Horse channeling the spirit of the Standells at a basement seance. Buffalo Killers are the real raw deal.
~ Brian Baker
Release date: October 10, 2006
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