*shels -- Plains of the Purple Buffalo

10/10

I haven't reviewed an album in more than a month...and I've been posting quite frequently in that time-frame. It appears that I am stalling. I knew before even re-listening to it for this review that I would be giving Plains of the Purple Buffalo a ten. I re-listened multiple times, now six years out from the first time I heard it, to make sure I wasn't just emotionally swept by it back then. I wasn't. This is a landmark album. Explaining why, however, is turning out to be difficult. Some other review might just refer to this as a "post-rock masterpiece" and be done with it. If you've read my reviews for any amount of time, you know I hate prefixing any genre with the tag "post," as I think it's lazy. Doing so would be far easier than describing *shels Plains of the Purple Buffalo.
Plains of the Purple Buffalo is a sprawling rock album with five songs approaching or surpassing the eight-minute mark. It nearly reaches 80 minutes in total, the max for a CD, which is a way people used to listen to music. Now, bands aren't confined to that restraint (a double-album isn't really a thing when someone can stream an infinite amount of minutes).
The album starts with booming drums, heavy, crunchy guitar and a guy screaming wordlessly, which is really just a sort of release before the album actually happens. The album itself does indeed sometimes feature heavy guitars and booming drums, but is also just as likely to feature wandering basslines, and more cerebral, effects-heavy guitar. The guitar and drums are generally not very complex, mostly power chords and simple beats, but they work to create a unique language punctuated by the use of acoustic guitar and more subtle work, including some interesting lead lines and cymbal work. This music somehow brings to mind the title of the album in which it is contained. The vocals are fairly sparse, but effective, generally wordless, slightly-high pitched emoting, bringing to mind ancient, Native American singing and scales, with surprise acapella bringing in group vocals of a deeper, resonating nature. Horns also pronounce a heavy presence, sometimes joining the album's heavier, crunchy moments, but also improvising fluidly in Plains of the Purple Buffalo's many quiet moments.
Plains of the Purple Buffalo brings to mind a vast, gently rolling prairie, wind blowing through the grass, bison periodically thundering through, faraway lightning striking and gentle rolls of thunder as the sky purples in the distance, butterflies hovering over grass hunting for flowers, rolling violence and gentle, blowing grass, meditation, exultation, smoky visions, haunted, blessed wigwams, and all manner and matter of general transportive glory and beauty. The musical diversity and diversity of emotion is stunning, surprising and beautiful. That someone can digitally own this album for $6.99 on Bandcamp is a marvel of our modern time.


2011 Shelsmusic
1. Journey To The Plains 7:56
2. Plains of the Purple Buffalo (Part 1) 3:20
3. Plains of the Purple Buffalo (Part 2) 8:31
4. Searching for Zihuatanejo 6:11
5. Vision Quest 5:16
6. Atoll 1:58
7. Butterflies (On Luci's Way) 9:04
8. Crown of Eagle Feathers 3:39
9. Bastien’s Angels 5:50
10. Conqueror 5:24
11. The Spirit Horse 7:28
12. Waking 4:13
13. Leaving the Plains 8:02