The White Buffalo has release his highly anticipated eighth studio album Year of the Dark Horse via Snakefarm Records.
Jake Smith is in the midst of a U.S. headlining tour which hits Dallas (Deep Ellum Art Co, Fri Nov. 11), Austin (3Ten Austin City Limits Live, Sat. Nov. 12), Houston (House of Blues- Bronze Peacock, Sun. Nov. 13), Santa Fe (Tumbleroots Brewery, Tue. Nov. 15), Flagstaff (Orpheum Theatre, Wed. Nov. 16), Los Angeles (The Regent Theater, Thur. Dec. 1), San Francisco (The Fillmore, Fri. Dec. 2), Sacramento (Ace of Spades, Sun. Dec. 4), Portland (Wonder Ballroom, Tue. Dec 6), Seattle (The Showbox, Wed. Dec. 7), Missoula (The Wilma Theatre, Fri. Dec. 9), Bozeman (The ELM, Sat. Dec 10), Boise (Knitting Factory, Sun. Dec. 11), Reno (Cargo Concert Hall, Tue. Dec 13), Fresno (Strummer’s, Thur. Dec. 15), San Diego (Observatory-North Park, Fri. Dec. 16), and Santa Ana (The Observatory, Sat. Jan 14). Expect more dates for 2023 to be announced soon.
On the Year of the Dark Horse, the Emmy-nominated, Oregon-born, and Southern California-bred artist The White Buffalo aka Jake Smith, teamed with GRAMMY Award-winning producer Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Brothers Osborne, Fidlar) at his Neon Cross studio in Nashville. For singer-songwriter-guitarist Smith, it was time to take the less-traveled path and embark on a voyage of discovery. Bassist, keyboard player, and guitarist Christopher Hoffee and drummer Matt Lynott added to the recordings and round out the group on the road.
“You think we’re a country band? A folk band? Americana? Rock? What the f_k are you gonna say now?!” says Smith. “With Year of the Dark Horse, 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.”
Year of the Dark Horse which American Songwriter hailed as a “tilt-a-whirl of melting soundscapes,” and a “funhouse of melodies that shapeshift in your ears” is roughly based around the shifting of the seasons paralleled with the shifting of a relationship. Smith’s evocative storytelling and emotionally weighted songs 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.