by Scott Yohe
Scottish band, Buffet Lunch, have released their debut album on Upset The Rhythm. Following two EPs released via Permanent Slump, the group has created an album of jangly pop and post-punk, with a bouncy feel to the music. As a debut, The Power of Rocks shows a band that is willing to create whatever they want regardless of whatever is popular. All the pop sensibilities are there, and they are there in spades, but the band decides to take these sensibilities to create music that makes you feel as if you are walking up a hill on a spring day. There is a bounce in their step, and it infects the listener to have the same sort of bounce.
The band reportedly recorded The Power of Rocks over a four-day period in a cottage on the banks of Loch Fyne. The feeling of being by the water with your friends, away from civilization shines through. A central theme of nature is present in the music and really does make someone want to be outside, enjoying all the beautiful things around them. The albums opener “Red Apple Happiness” is a perfect beginning to show you what kind of album you are listening to. The lyrics, while silly, still make commentary about someone acting as if they are cooler and better than something when that is not the case, with such biting lyrics like “Red apple happiness / you are rotten at the core!”. The synths and guitars bounce along the track making a very pleasant listen. The fruit motif continues with “Orange Peel” a song with angular guitars that play an irregular melody going back and forth.
“Ten Times” and “Ashley’s New Haircut” feature electronic artist Me Lost Me, which are rather different than all of the other songs on the album. They are much slower and solemn. Female vocals appear and dazzle the listener with lyrics as simple as “Ten times/ I wash my clothes now / ten times folding in the drawer” a simple but beautiful image. The instrumentals of these songs show the softer and more sentimental side of Buffet Lunch, with synths that make themselves comfortable in the listeners ears. These are slower songs that still provide that same warmth as the rest.
The album’s title track perfectly encapsulates the sound and the messages of the album. The opening lyrics “For the love of rocks / between two skies he sits with rubble stalks / learn to enjoy the stink” show the importance of nature within the record. Something we often forget in modern times is stop and slow down, to enjoy the beauty around us. Buffet Lunch shows us that if we learn to enjoy the stink, then we will be happier. The song is such wonderful fun, twisting back and forth with mesmerizing synth and bass lines. The penultimate song “He wore Two Hats” opens with a drum beat that should excite anyone. The silliness of the lyrics show just how much fun the band is having and how much fun they want you to have.
Buffet Lunch has shown that they are a band worth listening to for two reasons. The first is because they are filled with so much joy and they want you to feel that as well. They want you to enjoy yourself in a childlike way that we often forget that we can. The second is that they are creating music that is both interesting and engaging while using relatable elements. This is still a pop album at its core, nothing is out of place in a way that is jarring or uncomfortable. The important question Buffet Lunch asks us all is “do you believe in the power the rocks?” The answer should be yes and that now more than ever we need to believe in the power of rocks.