Lord Buffalo Credit: photo by Jana Birchum

Lord Buffalo, O’Conqueror, Wiretree, Emily Bell

Lamberts, Jan. 3

Has a star been born in Emily Bell? Showcasing the right amount of vocal grain and enough charisma to corral loquacious Lamberts clientele, Bell and her fivepiece band banged out a spunky set of swampy roots pop and slinky sexabilly that predicts a quick rise through the River City ranks. Guitar pop treasure Wiretree had a relatively quiet 2014, the band’s braintrust producing a child instead of an album. This triumphant set of classics and new tunes promises a loud 2015. O’Conqueror brought a full-bodied live presence driven by haunted, restless psychedelia. The predominance of slow tempos and tribal percussion started to grind, but the group’s introduction of groove on the final numbers kicked into an inspired gear. Lord Buffalo climaxed the night with spacey folk-rock swirling on loud/soft dynamics, Wurlitzer bass, and violin drone. Like a small town preacher, D.J. Pruitt related tales in which truth meant less than the magic conjured in the telling. A spooky, epic take on Roky Erickson’s “Two Headed Dog” clarified the band’s focus better than any Americana awards ever will.

This article appears in January 9 • 2015.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US

Michael Toland started writing about music in 1988 on the Gulf Coast, moved to Austin in early 1991, and has inflicted bylines upon the corporeal and digital pages of Pop Culture Press, The Big Takeover, Blurt, Amplifier, Austin.citysearch, the Austin American Statesman, Goldmine, Sleazegrinder, Rock & Roll Globe, High Bias, FHT Music Notes, and, since 2011, The Austin Chronicle.