The White Buffalo - Once Upon a Time in the West (2012)

There was a time when I considered The White Buffalo my "new" favorite artist. Three LPs, three EPs, hundreds of live shows, and seven and a half years later we can hardly refer to The White Buffalo as being "new," but he still remains one of my favorite recording artists and his tunes remain fresh.

I've always enjoyed The White Buffalo's lone, guitar-slinging musical bandito routine. I prefer his one-man performances for the freedom it allows him to jam through multi-song country medleys and the emotion that hovers in the room when it is just his exceptional baritone and the guitar keeping time. "Once Upon a Time in the West" adds additional musical layers to The White Buffalo's previous releases, namely in the consistent backing of a near-full band, and pulls it off without losing the authentic Americana feel of the solo White Buffalo. A few tracks are downright rollicking with up-tempo drums, howls, and "Hey"s. Despite the quality of the full-band tracks, I still find myself gravitating toward the thoughtfulness and simplicity of slower tracks such as "Sleepy Little Town," "Wish It Was True," and "One Lone Night." They are alluring, if not haunting, songs that remind me (if not the collective us) of how captivating good songwriting and vocals can be. Have a gander at the video below and tell me I'm wrong. Enjoy this album and support this artist. His music is as good as his personality. Worth buying; worth sharing.