The White Buffalo will return on November 11 with his eighth studio album titled Year Of The Dark Horse, set for release through Snakefarm.
The Oregon-born, Southern California-bred artist has completed the record with Grammy Award-winning producer Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Brothers Osborne, Fidlar) at his Neon Cross studio in Nashville. For The White Buffalo, aka singer-songwriter-guitarist Jake Smith, it was time to take the less-traveled path and embark on a voyage of discovery.
“You think we’re a country band? A folk band? Americana? Rock? What the f_k are you gonna say now?!” says Smith. “With this album, I wanted something outside of what I’ve ever done. I wanted to open up. Do something dangerous. I’m hard to put into a singular genre as it is, but now I really wanted to take away any kind of preconception or pigeon-holing.”
Smith adds, “And don’t ask me, cos I don’t know what it is! It’s a genre-bending thing–there’s elements and influences from ELO, Daniel Lanois, Tom Waits, The Boss, circus, pirate music, yacht rock, and I’m driving and pushing some of these numbers in a way I’ve never done before.”
Roughly based around the shifting of the seasons paralleled with the shifting of a relationship, on Year Of The Dark Horse, Smith continues his evocative storytelling through emotionally weighted songs that allow the imagination of the listener to play an important part throughout; the music builds on a tale of debauchery (of the drunken variety) and blame, of love and loss, a life lived against the odds, the whole thing set in one lunar year, following our anti-hero through the highs and lows of the seasons.
From highlights “Kingdom For A Fool,” “52 Card Pickup,” and “Donna,” Year Of The Dark Horse offers an invigorating and wonderfully unpredictable listen. A collection of 12 musical vignettes individual yet constant in flow, it’s The White Buffalo’s most ambitious and well-rounded work to date, with the full scope of Smith’s songwriting craft is on view.
The White Buffalo – now with seven albums plus various EPs in its locker- is rounded out by touring/recording compadres Christopher Hoffee, bassist/keyboards/guitars, and drummer Matt Lynott.
NPR’s All Songs Considered tagged The White Buffalo as an “amazing storyteller,” the Los Angeles Times added “Smith’s baritone echoes with villains and misfits, drunks, and philistines,” and Classic Rock magazine declared TWB “America’s darkest country/blues export…imagine a blue collar Tom Waits, or Nick Cave pumping gas in a station just off the highway.”
Year Of The Dark Horse is the follow-up to The White Buffalo’s last album, On The Widow’s Walk (Snakefarm, 2020) which was released one week after the entire world stopped during the global pandemic.
Listen to the best of The White Buffalo on Apple Music and Spotify.
