The reviews don’t stop just because it’s December, you silly old so-and-so you! Here are 2021 releases from King Buffalo, Deerhoof, and Fucked Up.

King Buffalo – The Burden of Restlessness
(June 4, 2021)

Unbeknownst to me, King Buffalo came out with an album this week! But I’m not here to talk about that one. I probably won’t listen to that one! I’m talking about the one that came out in June. That one is this one. The Burden of Restlessness. And let me tell you! Uhh….

Whoops! Sorry. End of year stupor. King Buffalo plays a version of stoner rock that involves more thoughtful introspection and less Monster Magnet “I fucked your mom” beefy machoism or Electric Wizard “I’m on fucking drugs, maaan” psychedelic nightmares. The Burden of Restlessness, specifically, was recorded during pandemic lockdown and covers many of the ensuing mental health crises inherent in living day-to-day through such a sorry state of affairs. Lots of aggression, depression, anger, and hopelessness in these 40 minutes. You don’t often hear these themes paired with sludgy, heavy, slow desert rock, but it works incredibly well.

The mood is set right away by Sean McVay yelling “Another year lost in the wasteland!” during the choruses. Just a lot of sad-sack Covid isolation shit. Musically it’s all very obviously dour, drawing on the slow, pensive, even progressive moods of mopey metal like Evergrey or Fates Warning. Hella Steven Wilson vibes at times; track two “Hebetation” delivers lines like “Every night I dream a million different ways for me to die” with uncanny Porcupine Tree melancholy. Sometimes, the attempts to pep things up come across as willfully sardonic and incredulous. “Silverfish” shows this with playful, tip-toeing synth notes in the intro before the guitar takes over.

But, throughout, you can’t help but feel this sadness seep into every fiber of your own being. And I like that. It’s not all chick fuckin’ and mustache rides and getting high at the Grand Canyon with King Buffalo. Sometimes you just have to let shit be real. Now that I can identify with.

Early Verdict:

Deerhoof – Actually, You Can
(October 22, 2021)

For every year I progress through this unpredictable shithole of a life on this unpredictable shithole of a stupid planet in this unpredictable shithole of a stupid universe, I can always seek solace from the fact that Deerhoof will never, ever change. Going at it for almost 30 years, they are still as prolific as ever, churning out the goods with no signs of stopping anytime soon. This year finds the band releasing their 18th studio album Actually, You Can. It’s a Deerhoof album! Just like all the others!

There’s no real point in going over specifics; if you like the band then you’ll enjoy this album, if you don’t like the band then you won’t. There’s no middle ground. Cerebral arrangements played messily, overflowing with the kind of noisy indie whimsy that Deerhoof basically invented, and topped off with Satomi Matsuzaki’s inanely charming vocals. It’s a formula that worked from the beginning, thanks to the band’s distinct musical thumbprint and their ability to maintain its consistency as they enter their fourth decade.

They still sound like a young band, as playful and off-the-wall as they were in the ’90s. Even if their most vital era is far behind them, you gotta give them credit for knowing themselves better than a lot of other aging bands in any genre. I may not get excited for new releases, but knowing that Deerhoof is still out there making music is comforting to me.

Early Verdict:

Fucked Up – Year of the Horse
(May 7, 2021)

Oh my god, what a monster of a release this is. Broken up into four 20ish-minute acts (each separately released in four monthly installments), it all comes together as the 1.5 hour Year of the Horse. The most ambitious release from the band yet in an already ambitious discography. It truly is Fucked Up’s Tales from Topographic Oceans in many ways, and I think you’d either love it to death or want to kill it with acid.

It would be impossible to speak of this album concisely; it deserves the full album review treatment some day. Damian Abraham’s throaty hardcore punk vocals are the only familiar holdover from previous incarnations of the band, everything else is a total progressive rock/metal worship venture. “Act One” takes you through lengthy passages of pummeling, hypnotically heavy riffs and passes through corridors of mossy, prog-folk whimsy. “Act Two” takes you through psychedelic stoner garage rock and passes through corridors of piano-driven drones layered with Animal Collective-style wall-of-sound vocals, and then corridors of echoey Ennio Morricone spaghetti western guitar jangles, raw and brassy trumpet solos, and plenty of whistling. “Act Three” leads you down a path of extended warbly space rock with ethereal Meg White-meets-Bjork singing and incredible string arrangements. “Act Four” greets you at the door with a trumpet fanfare before launching into some speed metal, a cheesy weirdo shuffle with synthesized glissandos, and then some proggy piano balladry. And much more. So much more.

It’s unbelievable how many ideas are packed into this thing. I don’t even want to get into the storyline, I could end up writing a whole book right here. This is a literal symphony. A literal opera. Oh god, I’m tingling. Help.

Early Verdict: