Heavy Reverie

Cincinnati’s Buffalo Killers expanded to a quartet for Heavy Reverie, adding second guitarist and lap steel player Sven Kahns to their hypercharged lineup. As always, the band balance between the boogie and power pop ends of Big Star, hitting the kind of hooks that grow on you over time. “Cousin Todd” jams past with harmonies, hard-hit drums, and warm, fuzzy guitars that send the vibe right into the early or mid-‘70s in Memphis. “Sandbox” admits “your body excites me” with an earnestness not heard since Matthew Sweet circa his Girlfriend album, and with a warped guitar exit that pays tribute to the works of Robert Quine and Richard Lloyd. “This Girl Has Grown” furthers the power pop sound between Sweet and the band. Andrew Gabbard sounds like a mix of John Lennon and Ozzy Osbourne on the flipped-out psych-blues of “Who You Are?” Harmonies with brother Zachary Gabbard heighten the trudging spaciness of “Grape Peel (How I Feel).” By “January,” the harmonies push forth a country-rock sound reminiscent of The Jayhawks.