Let me start by saying I’ve listened to Buzzard before; this is a solo project, and Elliott knows what he’s doing. The arrangements, recording and performances are all well thought-out and well done, so that everything can be clearly picked out, which isn’t always the case with sludgy doom.
‘Darkness Wins’: a great start, kicking off with thick Sabbath-like riffs backing a tale of a Bradbury-esque travelling fair, which metamorphosises into a more Lovecraftian vision of cosmic doom, via a hooking key change. The lyrics are mostly sung in a call-and response to the riffs, reminiscent of Green Lung.
‘Crushing Burden of Despair’- if Primus did doom, this wouldn’t be out of place. A lolloping anti-MAGA song, taking aim at, and hitting, the targets of the wilfully ignorant and hateful, currently turning everything to shit for money and clicks.
‘Murder in the White Barn’; a tremulous acoustic-led dialogue between murderer and victim, evoking shades of Nick Cave’s Murder Ballads and Tom Waits’ ‘Murder in the Red Barn’, which adds fuzzed electric guitar to emphasise the last part.
‘Primitive’: Voivod are more of an influence here, both lyrically and musically, in another broadside against the degeneration of the US president and all his apparatchiks. The final verse is very Hawkwind-like in its’ SF focus.
‘Changeling’; a contemporary take on old folk tales of fairies swapping human children for their own, over a Sabbath type riff doubled on fuzz guitars panned hard left and right. The lamented consequences of dealing with the changeling come out after a clean ( I’d like to say perhaps a baritone) guitar break at 3’36”.
‘The Ghost of Orphan James’; acoustic arpeggios backed with fuzz guitar rhythms carry the tale of a corrupt and evil orphanage owner, and what happens to him when things go really bad.
‘Twisted Love’: a spacious fuzz intro opens a song about a doomed abusive relationship. Definitely not super happy fun time.
‘Gadarene Swine’; acoustic arpeggios underpin an examination of cruelty and greed, disguised as Christian piety, with the choruses emphasised by much heavier and fuzzy guitar and bass arrangements.
‘Dunwich Farm’; banjo and fuzz heavy critique of factory farming and its’ supporting practices, through the lens of Lovecraftian metaphor.
‘Flies, Mosquitoes, Rats and Sparrows’; a huge head-nodding doom riff pushes this cautionary story of what happened when Chairman Mao tried to alter the balance of nature in his Great Leap Forward, and was taught a harsh lesson by nature in return.
‘Conclusions’. Straight up pitiless ecological doom, musically lighter but not lyrically. Great chorus:”Down the road/I keep moving/You can come/ To your own conclusions.”
‘Plight of the Planet’; thick woolly relentless riffs roll over you, as concern for the consequences of our actions on the planet are articulated.
‘Ancient Ruins of the 21st Century’; our distant successors try to make sense of the wreckage we left behind, accompanied by acoustic arpeggios and a tremolo overdriven electric guitar.
Overall, a great album. Definitely fits the description of ‘doom folk’- a lot of folk music deals with disaster and the consequences of bad decisions, this brings it into the metal arena in an articulate and emphatic way. Recommended.
