Our Blood

Lubbock, Texas-styled singer/songwriter Rick Buckner likely feels he spilled a fair amount of his own blood in making this anticipated follow-up to 2006’s Meadow. A number of unfortunate events held up the release, among them a failed tape machine, a murder, and a theft (laptop mixes). After all that, "Voila! The record was done, or, let us be clear, abandoned like the charred shell of a car with a nice stereo," Buckner declared. But Our Blood feels more like a labor of love, a meticulously crafted collection that rivals his best work. The opening moments of the record, a few seconds that sound like rusted steel exhaling, gives way to a solid, alt-country tune (“Traitor”), built on a chiming acoustic guitar, murmuring vintage keyboards and a gently roiling pedal steel (by veteran player Buddy Cage). Buckner’s voice sounds stronger than ever, a little Bondo filling in the weaker spots and a smoothing chamois treatment over the rougher ones. The layers of old Wurlitzers, Casios, pedal steel and E-bow weave an incredibly rich texture. Buckner says Our Blood is about “being caught,” and his splendid lyrical storytelling is as mesmerizing as the music.