Richard Buckner/ “Our Blood” / Merge

Mostly standard light rock meets a hint of country, “Americana”. In fact, many songs give a feeling of being on a road trip across America. Most tracks feature guitars, sparse drums, and electric keyboards (often sound like a Wurlitzer). Soft but solid male vocals, middle register, hint of raspiness. Songs occasionally seem a bit simple at first, but a richness emerges on second listen (or as song builds).

No FCCs detected. Favorites include: 4, 6, 9.

1. 5:17 Guitar, wurlitzer, straightforward chords, ever so slight occasional bendy twang.
2. 3:32 Delicate, sparse synth keyboards, mostly gently strumming on guitar + vocal.
3. 4:04 Bouncy looped synth in background, contemplative, builds a bit in last minute.
4. *5:15 Finger picked open guitar chords, occasional nice vocal harmonies, sparse and sad. Instrumental second half, repetitive, but you kinda appreciate the extra time.
5. 3:01 Subdued, dramatic instrumental, sounds like something played over a campfire scene overlooking a barren desert. Guitars, wind chimes, you know, the usual.
6. *4:47 Slightly faster strummed guitars, more upbeat, like early morning road trip music.
7. 3:22 Slower, fairly standard, a bit more country sounding.
8. 4:31 Faster tempo comes in & out, occasional synthy twang, vocals a bit country too.
9. *3:18 Guitars with nice pulsing delays in background, sounds like a sunny day, looking out of a train window maybe. No sound in last 8 seconds.
Deniz Cebenoyan