For all the years that the Buzzards of Fuzz have been circling around Atlanta, it’s hard to believe they’ve yet to release a full length. But here we are. Several years in the making, the self-titled affair was recorded in 2019 over four caffeine-fueled days with friend and producer Kristofer Sampson (The Coathangers, The B-52’s, Nashville Pussy). With 15 tracks serving as the backbone, the group has spent the intervening years experimenting with different arrangements, adding new layers, and deciphering what sort of album they wanted to deliver.

“We bounded between manic spurts of additional layered instrumentation and lulls of listening, examination, and growth,” says vocalist and guitarist Van Bassman. “The record grew from a collection of singles to a pseudo-story, to its final form—a space rock opera.”

Depending on your stance, “space rock opera” can come off as a sign of ambition or eye-rolling pretension. But the truth is, it’s a decision that feels perfectly suited for the Buzzards’ take on desert rock and cosmic psychedelia. Propelled by volcanic riffs, paint-stripping leads, and an unyielding sense of adventure, the band (at this time consisting of Bassman, lead guitarist Benjamin Davidow, and bassist Charles Wiles) has always maintained a flair for fireworks, improvisation, and drama.

You can hear all these elements come into play on this scorching live rendition of lead single “Lonely in Space.” Featuring Josh Evan Lamar on drums, the track was filmed and recorded at Orange Peel Recording Studios as part of the Sampson Saturdays live series. Led by a lumbering groove, the track shows what the band does so well; namely, converting hard rock conventions into mind-expanding journeys into the cosmos. Although it’s the first track to be revealed from the upcoming LP, the song will serve as the album’s closer, effectively ending the record in a thundering squall of brawny guitars and loose-limbed cymbal wash. For the listener, it’s a new portal into the Buzzards’ interstellar romps. For the band, however, it’s the final result of a long process of exploration and slow refinement.

“As musicians, all we have are these moments in time—these sonic pictures etched onto a disc bouncing around in our heads like orphaned radio signals lost and lonely in space,” Bassman explains. “For at least the past decade each evolution of my musical career brought this track back, this riff back, these lyrics back. I am sure it has changed slightly many times over the years but it was always there. The more we played it, the more it felt like it was always there—a mantra swimming around our heads and reminding us to breathe. ‘Lonely in Space’ is the final track on the album, but we felt it was fitting as our first single. This is Buzzards—always has been.”

Watch/listen above.

The Buzzards of Fuzz is out Sept. 2021.

More Info
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