Looking up at ‘Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard’, it’s hard to avoid the visions of a Queen cover band. In actuality, they began with conventional indie pop, but quickly broke away into the best of 70s slack-jawed rock and roll, keeping only the weirdest of their indie roots. Quirky lyrics are belted over head-shaking drumbeat, or crooned over classic guitar.
We begin with ‘New Age Millennial Magic’ - that juxtapositionally kicks off with a 4 line rhapsody of a cow destined for the electronic storefront of a shoe shop. I did say quirky right? From there we are powered through a swinging song of consumerism in the modern age - this is how to open your debut.
It’s hard to pinpoint a weak area of the album - it captures its target sound intensely - and doesnt let it go. This is no bad thing if you're a Queen fan, or have a musical background more rich than my experience playing the triangle, and can promptly give me a lecture on the differences in clef. For us plebs though, it's hard to differentiate between songs until the hook they are pushing finally lands, or an utterly bizarre lyric worms its way in.
‘Crescent Moon vs Demolition Man’ falls into both these categories, tying for best song on the album, with its fantastically unique hook that is so joyous you won't care if you are overheard singing about your crescent moons and peasant fools.
‘Yourself’ feels separated as a piano led quasi-lovesong, with lead vocals swinging from floaty to raw, ultimately meandering into a trumpet solo. The rest of the album lies somewhere between here and millennial magic.
‘Break Right In’ is the midpoint, copying Millennial Magic's sing-songy start with a somehow more obscure premise and strong hook, being the perfect encapsulation of 70s rock with modern techniques, and quirky contemporary references.
It is certainly a unique style - but only in this day and age. The album feels well past being simply inspired by 70’s rock and roll, so it's unlikely to attract any new listeners with its only differential coming in the form of modern lyrics and techniques. For the old guard of 70s rock and roll, will it match up to the greats? I don’t know - and I don’t care, because I’m too busy belting about an Ikea break-in.
4/5