The Midnight Ghost Train - "Buffalo" ...

Midnight Ghost Train are one of these bands that falls under the "stoner-rock" banner when they are so much more. While the roots of their sound is thick, fuzzy guitar driven stoner-rock, that only scratches the surface of what this band does and does so well. The band is bluesy, southern rock inspired, psychedelic and most of all great fun to listen to. Their songs are catchy, so catchy that it only takes one spin of the album for the songs to get trapped inside your head. It is not just the vocal lines that are infectious, you will be humming the riffs too. Named after the hometown of vocalist/guitarist Steve Moss 'Buffalo' is the perfect party record but it is also just a great all-round album at any time. The album art reeks of innocence and country-fried images but what you get is quite different, this is rawk 'n' roll, southern, loud, dirty, fuzzy and high energy.

'A Passing Moment of Madness' opens the album in glorious fuzzy style; they quickly set up a psychedelic bluesy groove, move into overdrive and the album doesn't let up from that moment on.  The following track 'Henry' is a blues meets stoner metal stomp with a loose jammy feel. The vocals have a commanding blues preacher vibe as they rant and rave over the top of blues-drenched rhythms. While gruff vocals play a major role in these tunes, so does the instrumental delivery which is constantly entertaining. There are great riffs but the solos and the sometimes intense drumming are what holds this together. The band released the next tune 'Foxhole' as a single on April 13th and it is easy to hear why this track got pulled out of the bunch for single material. This track is infectious and has a captivating groove and this track would have to sound amazing live and loud.

'Tom’s Trip' and 'Spacefaze' are the centerpieces of the album taking close to half of the albums playing time. 'Buffalo' is only a 30 minute release and these two tracks account for close to half of that but despite the longer than usual playing times of these tunes, the tracks simply fly by with so much infectious momentum. As the album plays on, it gets more and more diverse. Shifts in tempo, mood, and structure become more common-place and the album becomes a mish-mash of the complex and the very simple. cover of Huddie 'Lead Belly” Ledbetter’s 'Cotton Fields' follows complete with a sing-along vocal back-up and hand-claps. To be honest, I find this little ditty to be a bit of a hiccup in the how the album flows but it is still fun to listen to just the same. Things gets more aggressive in 'Southern Belle'; which I am guessing is a song about a man attacking a woman over cheating on him but there is no lyric sheet with this album so I may be presuming too much.

The album ends on the heaviest, most monolithic tune the album has to offer .... 'Into the Fray.' It is the most off-the-cuff track and certainly the one with the least amount of flair but it is also the one most perfect for all-out headbanging fun. What The Midnight Ghost Train' do is make tunes that are actuated by emotion rather than reason. 'Buffalo' is surprisingly up-beat and seems slightly off-the-wall without being experimental so they have got a good mix happening here. The album is more southern rock than anything else but within these songs there is a versatility you don't come across too often. There are slight elements of hardcore as some parts of this remind me of C.O.C and it also has a country-fried blues element that is constantly bubbling away in the background. It might not appeal to the stoner-metal traditionalist but anyone looking for something that is fun and just that bit different won't want to miss out on this. Highly recommended....8.5/10.

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