Buffet Lunch's debut album 'The Power of Rocks' released!

  

Hello all!   Did you know there are eleven differently flavoured songs to choose from the Buffet Lunch? Blow the dust off that large plate and form an orderly queue because the Scots magpie-minded post-punks release their debut album on Upset The Rhythm today! Buffet Lunch line their nests with only the finest skittish riffage, poignant tangents and leaping absurdity. The Power of Rocks is the glorious upshot, a goliath of wonky pop, frolicking in the melodic landslide of our dormant cerebella.   Available now on orange vinyl and digitally, The Power of Rocks brims with nervy energy throughout its peculiar patchwork. These songs are gleefully led by a giddy compass but they also own their fair share of emotional heft at times too. The Power of Rocks can be found looming in all the best record shops now and also in our very own webshop here.   Read on for lots more info on Buffet Lunch and excited rhetoric concerning the advent of their terrific debut album.

Buffet Lunch are a Scottish group who make it their mission to craft satisfyingly imperfect pop songs filled with imagery and humour. The group’s elementary parts are Perry O’Bray (Vocals/Keys/Guitar), Neil Robinson (Bass), John Muir (Lead Guitar) & Luke Moran (Drums), united by a shared love of music on the ABBA-to-Beefheart axis. These four ricochet between Glasgow and Edinburgh, creating music that bristles with DIY spirit and upbeat slantedness. Their tracks are vigorous excursions, meandering into clattersome terrain as often as hiking up into the breezy, melodious foothills. The desire to lead the listener along a curious tale helps tie things together, showcasing a lyrical playfulness that pins down their puzzle of sound.     'Bladderwrack'

'The Power of Rocks'   Having been an active band for a few years, playing regularly north of the border with like-minds such as Irma Vep, Robert Sotelo and Kaputt, Buffet Lunch spent early 2020 working on the follow-up to their two EPs on Permanent Slump. The fruits from such labour bore out as the band’s debut album The Power of Rocks, out May 7th on Upset The Rhythm. The Power of Rocks was recorded in a Crofters cottage/studio on the banks of Upper Loch Fyne in Argyll, over four nights and five days at the beginning of March 2020, before Covid-19 made itself such an ongoing concern. Back then four people could occupy the same space and make music, lunch and dinner together. Days fell into a pattern of long sessions and long meals. The album came together as a luminous mix of Buffet Lunch’s live chestnuts, some sparky recent songs and some new material entirely written and recorded in situ. All tracks were recorded by Neil Robinson acting as the in-house engineer.

As the seriousness of the virus and talk of national lockdowns developed - there was a feeling of anticipation more than fear in the air, but being holed up in cottage in a wild corner of Scotland surrounded by snowy mountains still took on an apocalyptic feel, albeit an apocalypse where the band were safe and overdubbing vocals. After leaving the cottage, reality (as it must) set in and finishing the album became a more remote task. Over the following months, an extended period of listening awarded the recordings a deeper realisation, as they bounced between band members computers.   Perry also started writing on his Casio keyboard and collaborated on a couple of songs (‘Ten Times’ & ‘Ashley’s New Haircut’) with Jayne Dent (of electronic music project Me Lost Me), drawing on her ethereal singing voice as a counterpoint to his own more ‘spoken’ vocals on the album. These gauzy, dreamlike tracks were then sent to other members of Buffet Lunch to add their respective parts, creating evocative new dimensions to close each half of the album with.     'Pebbledash'

'Red Apple Happiness'   The Power of Rocks’ rattles along like a short-story collection, exploring a variety of narratives. When it comes to the music itself, Perry describes their approach as “see what happens” but admits to a preference for simple synth melodies, plenty of percussion, and prickly guitar-parts. ‘Red Apple Happiness’ opens the album with a dizzy swagger, guitars and keyboard notes swirling in forays whilst its lyric tackles notions of social bravado. ‘Orange Peel’ follows equally serpentine with its blattering tune and jagged, yet jolly melodic twists.   The themes across the album are wide-ranging and personal, from irritation with out of touch politicians (‘Pebbledash’), to love letters to seaside living (‘Bladderwrack’), to even the frailty and confusion of old age (‘Said Bernie’, ‘It Helps to Know’). Title track ‘The Power of Rocks’ is an ode to the power of nature sunk within a rolling wave of cheery jangle. “Do you believe in the power of rocks when the sun is too hot on your face?” sings Perry as the song zigzags with consequence. ‘He Wore Two Hats’ sports similarly bop-worthy riffs and addictive nods as it deals with its story of savvy man who’d bitten off more than he could chew.

Buffet Lunch’s debut album accomplishes a lot in its brief 38 minutes. It stuns and startles, intrigues and entwines, drawing the listener further into its characterful world. When asked about any intent posed with this debut record Perry confides that “we hope people can hear the joy the band had making the album and the curiosity and frustration that went into the writing. There was no process or design, but there is detail, and deliberateness in our wish to explore and create.” It’s this attentive focus alongside a keen sense of humour that really sets Buffet Lunch apart, with ideas darting wilfully to and from the poignant truths at hand.   The Power Of Rocks is out now through Upset The Rhythm digitally and as a limited edition 180g orange vinyl LP.

Thanks so much for reading and for all your mailorders too, you’re certainly keeping us busy! Have the best of possible weekends, Upset The Rhythm

UPSET THE RHYTHM UPCOMING SHOWS

SOFIA PORTANET Friday 5 March * POSTPONED - new date TBC * PinUps, 1 Tolpuddle Street, Angel, London, N1 0XT 7.30pm | £8.50 | TICKETS   FUZZ (Charles Moothart, Ty Segall, Chad Ubovich) Wednesday 31 March * POSTPONED - new date TBC * Electric Ballroom 184 Camden High St, Camden Town, London, NW1 8QP 7pm | £17.50 | TICKETS (This show is rescheduled from July 22nd 2020, original tickets valid, refunds available too)   JAKE XERXES FUSSELL Wednesday 1 September OSLO Hackney, 1A Amhurst Rd, Hackney Central, London, E8 1LL 7.30pm | £9 | TICKETS (This show is rescheduled from May 12th and Sep 8th 2020 & May 7th 2021, original tickets valid, refunds available too)   PAN AMERICAN Tuesday 9 November Cafe OTO, 18-22 Ashwin St, London, E8 3DL 7.30pm | £10 | TICKETS (This show is rescheduled from April 21st and Aug 10th 2020 & Feb 17th 2021, original tickets valid, refunds available too, awaiting postponement)   BRIGID MAE POWER (full band) Tuesday 23 November The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, London, N1 9JB £10 | 7.30pm | TICKETS (This show is rescheduled from June 10th and Sept 15th 2020 & April 22nd 2021, original tickets valid, refunds available too)   SHOPPING  Monday 14 February 2022 The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Rd, Angel, London, N1 9JB 7.30pm | £10 | TICKETS (This show is rescheduled from May 5th and Sep 2nd 2020 & May 5th 2021, original tickets valid, refunds available too)