WHITE BUFFALO

It was at a band audition that Cody Bowles and Kevin Comeau first met and their mutual love for RUSH caused them to start to hang out and play music together. Cody is half Mi'Kmaq Native and a Two Spirit while Kevin is Jewish with his family surviving the Holocaust. Cody is a killer drummer but also plays native flute and is the vocalist while Kevin is a guitarist but also a keyboardist. They decided to play as a duo to draw attention to themselves because this is not an easy task to do live by any stretch of the imagination. These two are players.

In an interview Kevin said that when he's playing music by himself he's usually playing the synths doing TANGERINE DREAM type stuff while Cody on his own creates some cool stuff with the flute. Then he said they get together to jam and try to figure out how to merge RUSH with PINK FLOYD. By the way their four biggest influences are RUSH, YES, LED ZEPPELIN and PINK FLOYD. David Bottrill(TOOL, RUSH etc.) produced and mixed this album which happens to be a just under 28 minute EP. The vocals of Cody Bowles are high pitched and an acquired taste for some, kind of like Geddy in the 70's. I saw him at a LED ZEPPELIN tribute concert with a bunch of other Canadian musicians playing "Stairway To Heaven" and Cody was the lead vocalist and he commanded the stage and sounded so confident. He was awesome and Alex Lifeson did that closing solo.

The title track for the EP "White Buffalo" is a rallying cry for Indigenous people showing their strength and unity. That opening instrumental "Inner Light" reminds me of LED ZEPPELIN with the acoustic guitar and drums to start. Great sound when this kicks in after a minute and the guitar and drumming really impress. check it out after 3 minutes. "The Witching Hour" reveals that Kevin is a shredder especially when the vocals step aside after 2 1/2 minutes. Oh my!

That one was a bit of a ride but not as long as the closer "The Oracle" at over 13 minutes. A mellow start including the vocals but man when it kicks in after 2 minutes those vocals just cry out. This is good. A nice heavy sound. Some wordless vocals after 3 minutes. A calm then it turns even heavier, lots of bottom end here as the vocals come ripping in. Check out the bass pedals after 4 1/2 minutes then it kicks in again. Love this stuff. Vocals are interesting after 5 minutes. Reminds me of TOOL a lot after 6 minutes, even the whispered vocals and check out that guitar solo before 8 minutes. It all ends with waves and seagulls.

What a ride! Yes an easy 4 star EP for me and a nice appetizer for "Fearless" that I've been now listening to. By the way this took many spins before I connected with it.