BUFFET – All-American

Cover image curtesy of the Anacortes History Museum.

DIY Punk is alive and well in Anacortes, Washington. For the unaware, Anacortes is a small town in Northwest Washington State, damn near up to the Canadian border. It’s great to hear tunes coming out of small town USA. As testament to this, I’m listening to “All-American” the debut full-length by BUFFET.

The album is all all jagged edges and garage spirit. 14 tracks of rock and roll energy. While the sound is familiar, it’s also refreshingly new. The intro track, “Land” has a lot of the same vibe as “Possessed” by Suicidal. The band professes to be influenced by Circle Jerks and Descendents, and I can totally hear that.

The tunes progress rapidly, ADD fashion. The bulk of the songs clock in under the 2 minute mark. It’s important. There’s a lot of shit going on. No one needs to be weighed down by the burden of epic ballads, unless they choose that. Viva short songs!

There is a small selection of the songs that slow down the pace and pick up the emotion. Track 6, “Throne” is the pinnacle of this. It works well as a point to catch your breath. After that it’s back into the full swing.

The structures are simple and repetitive, great for driving home the point. The notes claim the album was recorded “live” at Anacortes Unknown. I take this to mean it was recorded as the full band, at once. This is as opposed to individual multi-tracks. If this isn’t the case, damn there must not have been a single person at that show.

Personal favorite is track 8, “4 Brides For 4 Guys”. It’s short and sweet. Autobiographical, perhaps, or maybe just wishful thinking.

Nevertheless, if you like punk rock, check this out: https://buffet.bandcamp.com/

Cheers!

Jerry Actually

Support these lads:

Dick Turner: Vocals

Nick Rennis: Guitar

John Van Deusen: Bass

Braydn Kreuger: Drums    

Tracks:

1. Land 00:57

2. Too Many Things 01:50

3. Victim 01:01

4. IDKU 00:59

5. Big Bomb 01:27

6. Throne 04:01

7. My Favorite Things 01:35

8. 4 Brides For 4 Guys 00:49

9. DoHo 01:31

10. I Like To Shop 02:15

11. Family Dinner 05:41

12. NY Slice 01:30

13. All-American 03:44

14. That’s What Dick Says 02:14

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