Go Go Buffalo Are ‘Taking Control’…
Go Go Buffalo – Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
A band with a bandcamp page that will genuinely make you think your computer has an overwhelming old-school computer virus and a band who’s Cincinnati Blues-filtered Punk and Hardcore sound is something disjointedly beautiful should are Taking Control.
Formed in 2014 and with Taking Control on the roster, two releases deep, Go Go Buffalo are certainly something and the almost Black Flag/Hard Rock crossover of ‘Poison Control’ opens us to this “something” unrelentingly.
Much like it’s predecessor, ‘Livin’ It Up’ could easily have been on Black Flag’s My War or Slip It In and is quite contrary to the images I conjured when I read an email informing me of “Blues-Punk”.
‘Watch It Explode’ again channels this Black Flag-ism but also, at least to this reviewer, Punk-Funk era Red Hot Chili Peppers with it’s chaotic psychedelic guitar work and blatant disregard for just about anything.
‘Three’ adds in that classic Punk quirk through disjointed 80’s Hardcore and pummelling Metal appreciating percussion. ‘Three is a track that I am incredibly curious to see live, as it sees the band simultaneously (in the musical representation of bi-polar) act their most chilled and most erratic.
It is at this point and with number five in the running order, ‘Ticks’, that you finally get the exact dirty-Blues rumble and guitar solo you were after, as well as realising the band’s comparability to the other masters of idiosyncratic Hardcore Punk, Fucked Up.
As much as the Hardcore Punk on offer up until now on Taking Control did exactly that, the toned down (mildly) far more Blues-Rock led sound actually sees the release come into it’s own. ‘Chilis’ embraces American Blues-Rock before the Punk appreciating but still very blue ‘No More Ernest Hemingway’ takes the control to the next level.
Closing this musical shit-storm GGB opt for a cover of Randy Newman’s ‘Last Night I Had A Dream’, renamed, altered and re-branded as ‘Last Night – Worth It’.
Taking Control is a release that started with such an abrasive sound and ended with it becoming the norm, leaving you feeling disjointed and confused that’s it’s over.
Go Go Buffalo may at times worry the listener as a “one trick pony” but with the release tactically altered when it is, a reflective look at the skill of this band is non- negotiable, prompting you to put your poor ears through it all again, again, again and again.
Find the band below:
- Visit Go Go Buffalo on Facebook and Twitter for updates.
- Head to bandcamp for the band’s music to date.
#StayFresh
