They used to be such nice lads as well. Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard started out as mainly the work of Tom Lees and the music it/he/they made was a daydreamy confection of glam rock and classic pop, from the irresistbly catchy first single Double Denim Hop to singing about John Lennon being Jesus Christ. Without necessarily having much weight to everything, it was still all so..nice.
Writing a second album can be an evil thing, however. After their 2022 debut Backhand Deals was nominated for in the Welsh Music Award suddenly the process of following it up didn’t seem so straightforward. Suffering in it’s wake from depression and anxiety which was resolved through therapy, Rees decided to turn a difficult situation on it’s head, and the basic premise for Skinwalker then took shape.
There are several threads to parse, from the b-movie schlock of Chew, Human Compression’s desert rock (Not often heard in Cardiff) to the at least familiar if a little weird My Star Sign Is A Bassett Hound. We’re inside someone’s mind here, so of course it’s going to be messy, but the closer The Skinwalker offers salvation for Rees in particular and rescues what otherwise is a jigsaw of ideas which may have sounded better inside it. It was all so simple, and nice, but of course Skinwalker is the proof that nothing stays that way forever.
You can read a full review here.
The Voice Of Unreason 