August 13, 2006 | Posted by David B. at 2:17 PM

Are you sitting down?

richard buckner

I first heard Richard Buckner in a very roundabout way. It was 1998, and I was a freshman in college, undergoing the barrage of orientation activities. There was a big local business fair kind of thing in the gym, with Peoples Bank and other establishments hawking their services. In attendance was the great Bull Moose Music, whose representatives were handing out free CDs, one of which was Buckner's Since.

I had no idea what to expect, but I absolutely loved it. It was "alt-country," which was huge at the time, but it was much darker and weirder than other alt-country records coming out. "Faithful Shooter" was especially a favorite, and still reminds me of my miserable basement room in Page Hall whenever I hear it.

His eighth record, out Sept. 12, is called Meadow. It starts with this song.

Richard Buckner - Town.

Buckner's voice is a force of nature. It's simultaneously heavy and weightless, making those amazing turns from note to note. He also writes great melodies to fit his voice. I haven't listened to all of Meadow yet, but if it's anything like Since (both albums share J.D. Foster as producer), we're all in for a treat. (Also of note: his band for this record includes Doug Gillard from Guided By Voices and Steven Goulding from the Mekons.)

You can pre-order Meadow from Amazon. Once it comes out, it will be available pretty much everywhere, including the Merge Records site.

Comments

Hey Guys,
Is there a reason why you guys have been ignoring bands like Birdbrain or artists like Enrico Curreri? Is their music too much over your heads?

Posted by: Ray Pete at August 13, 2006 3:18 PM

Wow. I haven't heard of Bull Moose Music in years. I always loved it for the vinyl selection but never in my life have been able to say it without reversing syllables. Ah, college in New England. Those were the days.

Posted by: Jenna at August 14, 2006 2:36 PM

Ray Pete,
I'm sure the MFR guys are swamped with records. They probably get 50+ a week, so the fact that haven't posted about two artists (who I'm not familiar with) doesn't mean that said artists' music is "over their heads." Talk about a way to get someone to NOT listen to stuff you like! Promotion through insulting people! Makes sense to me.

As for Richard Buckner's Since, I think it's one of my favorite records of all time. I consistently come back to record, years after its release. I've loved stuff of his before and since (ahem) but that's the one for me.

Posted by: Lucas Jensen at August 16, 2006 11:33 AM
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