I was on social media the other day, scrolling for band news which is pretty much what I do on there at this point, when I saw something or other about King Buffalo — they’ve been on tour in Europe ahead of returning to Freak Valley next week, it might’ve been that, it might not — but I was skimming the comments and there were people ragging on the band.

It was a little surprising, but it’s actually a sign that all the work they’ve put in, whether it’s on tour, or the pandemic trilogy, or even just their own online presence, is starting to pay off. People who don’t even like them know them and feel strongly enough about their work to have an opinion either way, and to express that opinion. That doesn’t happen for bands who don’t matter. Most bands nobody talks about at all. So I took it as a positive, even though it was someone basically being like, “grr here’s a thing on the internet I don’t like so I’m saying I don’t like it.” So it goes.

The Rochester trio have Copenhell and Hellfest to look forward to in addition to Freak Valley in June, more UK/EU shows this Fall, and US festival stops between as they continue to support last year’s Regenerator (review here). They’ve just sent word along the PR wire that their 2013 Demo (review here) will see a one-time limited vinyl pressing and that preorders go up on Friday. I remember when that came out, they were a four-piece and I was stoked because I’d been into Velvet Elvis, in which drummer Scott Donaldson and then-guitarist/vocalist Randall Coon had featured, while guitarist/vocalist Sean McVay and bassist Dan Reynolds had played in Abandoned Buildings Club.

I knew at the time they were a cool band. I’m not sure I knew they’d put themselves at the forefront of American heavy psych rock, or be the kind of act people feel compelled to express opinions about on socials, but when I think (or listen) back to that demo, you can definitely hear the roots of what they would and have become in the decade since it came out. Maybe a fan-piece or a curio, but I’m a fan. I guess I felt like saying so on the internet.

From the band:

KING BUFFALO – Demo LP

DEMO Preorders start THIS FRIDAY 6/2/23 at 12pm EST.

For the first time available on vinyl, our “Demo”! These were the first 3 songs we ever wrote and finally decided to give it a proper pressing on the 10 year anniversary.

THIS IS A ONE TIME PRESSING! After the Test Presses, Deluxe and Standard Editions are sold out, that will be it. THESE SONGS WILL NEVER BE PRESSED ON VINYL AGAIN… EVER!

These songs have been remastered for vinyl with new artwork by Ryan T. Hancock.

Tracklisting:
1. Pocket Full Of Knife 05:22
2. In Dim Light 06:08
3. Providence Eye 11:15

We’re on tour NOW! —> CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS: https://kingbuffalo.com/tour

European Tour 2023

08.6. (DE) Karlsruhe @ P8
09.6. (DE) Nephten @ Freak Valley
10.6. (DE) Leipzig @ UT Connewitz
12.6. (DE) Nurnberg @ Hirsch
14.6. (NL) Groningen @ Vera
15.6. (DK) Copenhagen @ Copenhell
17.6. (FR) Clisson @ Hellfest

October
17.10. (UK) London @ The Dome
18.10. (UK) Leeds @ Brudenell Social
19.10. (UK) Nottingham @ Bodega
20.10. (UK) Brighton @ The Arch
21.10. (BE) Antwerp @ Desertfest
28.10. (DE) Hamburg @ Lazy Bones Festival

North America Tour

6/28 Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
6/29 Quincy, CA @ High Sierra Festival
8/25 Cleveland, OH @ Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
8/26 Lexington, KY @ Expansion Fest
9/23 Austin, TX @ Ripplefest Texas

King Buffalo is:
Sean McVay – Guitar, Vocals, & Synth
Dan Reynolds – Bass & Synth
Scott Donaldson – Drums

kingbuffalo.com
facebook.com/kingbuffaloband
instagram.com/kingbuffaloband
kingbuffalo.bandcamp.com

stickman-records.com
facebook.com/Stickman-Records-1522369868033940

King Buffalo, Demo (2013)

King Buffalo, Regenerator (2022)

Fuck. Yes. I nerded out pretty hard when Rochester, NY, heavy rockers Velvet Elvis knocked me on my ass with their debut long-player, In Deep Time (review here), last year. Well, Velvet Elvis seem to have been shortlived, which is unfortunate, but guitarist/vocalist Randall Coon and drummer Scott Donaldson have teamed up with guitarist/vocalist Sean Mcvay and bassist/vocalist Dan Reynolds — both of Rochester-based outfit Abandoned Buildings Club — to form King Buffalo, and if the languid, naturalistic grooves that pervade their aptly-titled debut demo, Demo, are anything to go by, that pairing is working out pretty well. The demo has three songs that you could easily split into two 10″ vinyl sides, and for having been recorded over the course of two days at the band’s practice space comes through clear and naturally, the airy guitars leading the charge of an organic vibe that recalls some of the heavy psych of recent King Buffalo tourmates All Them Witches, a light rural touch and Neil Young influence in the vocals on the open verses of “Pocket Full of Knife” leading to a jammy march that’s immediately and viciously engaging, becoming only more so when the quiet break swaggers into a stop and subsequent full-tone fuzz riffing.

In my head I’ve started to write a list of crucial American neo-heavy psych bands pulling from the blues and Americana where and when they want to and blending it with a classic stonerly influence, and I might just have to add King Buffalo to it. Drop it into another context, maybe speed it up a bit, and “In Dim Light” could be a Fu Manchu riff, but King Buffalo put it to work in a spacious field rather than a surf-ready beach, nascent harmonies topping thick riffs such that the potential for what the band might do on a debut full-length is exciting even on multiple listens, Donaldson‘s Sleep-esque snare march making the groove all the more righteous en route to the choppy modulated guitar solo and a Doors-echoing break leading to resurgence of the main riff to finish. Put them together and “Pocket Full of Knife” and “In Dim Light” add up to just about match the 11:15 of third track “Providence Eye,” but the closer’s more or less in a world of its own, starting out with wandering notes over rhythm strum and diving into a bowl of proggadelic noodles that unfold to riffy triumph around the two-minute mark.

Maybe that’s quick for an 11-minute song, but King Buffalo play it smart in loud quiet tradeoffs, each more satisfying than the last, jamming heavy psych-style after the second before bringing the chorus around to bear again. Then it’s time to boogie. A shuffling riff takes hold and gets a touch of quirk via space-rocking synth, and several stages of an instrumental conclusion play out in driving rhythms slowing, speeding up, changing to classic heavy ’70s groove and meeting with echoing leads before Donaldson and Reynolds are finally tasked to wrap the whole thing up with the drum and bass that have all along been the anchor of the psychedelic fray. Man, that’s groovy. The demo came out in mid-November, and King Buffalo reportedly already have plans to record an LP that will hopefully surface sometime in 2014. Until then, whether you heard Velvet Elvis or not, the demo warrants getting down:

King Buffalo, Demo (2013)

King Buffalo on Thee Facebooks

King Buffalo on Bandcamp

King Buffalo’s website