Buffalo Nichols

About

On his second album, The Fatalist, Carl “Buffalo” Nichols does things with the blues that might catch you off guard.
There’s 808 programming, chopped up Charley Patton samples, washes of synth. There’s a consideration of the
fullness of the sonic stage and the atmospherics of the music that can only come with a long engagement with
electronic music. But this is no gimmicky hybrid or attempt to turn the blues into 21st century music by simply
dressing it with skittering hi-hats. Nichols’ vision for the blues is of a form of music that’s intimately tied to everyday
life in 2023, something that’s reflected not only in the choice of instrumentation, but in the complexities of the
songwriting and the gray areas his lyrics explore. This is music that comes straight from the present, and as such, it’s
a reminder that the same shit that drove the first blues singers to pick up a guitar is still present behind the throbs of
deep bass hits today. The Fatalist sounds unlike any blues record you’re likely to hear in 2023.
Of course, Nichols’ songwriting has always been firmly rooted in the present. He proved he could succeed on the
music industry’s own blues terms on his self-titled 2021 debut