Slight Return
Our Blood brings to close an eventful hiatus from writing and recording and picks up from 2006's "Meadow". After a series of failed projects, brushes with the fuzz and the death of his tape machine, Bucker has dusted himself down and as he explains "Eventually, the recording machine was resuscitated and some material recovered". Thankfully for us the meticulous process and obsessive compulsion to reinvent and create has produced an intimate and elliptical record.
Kicking off with 'Traitor' Buckner's intent is clear with a purposeful and driving rhythm interspersed with sinister organ. In contrast to the sparse instrumental arrangements Buckner's vocals are rich and comforting, offer a glimmer of hope. 'Escape' with mighty fine duel track acoustic guitars and meandering keyboard again portrays an edginess and confidence to break through the confines and frustrations, "Let's waste the night/Pay the price" might just be the sound of Buckner finally escaping his recent past. 'Thief' which uses the keys in a much more atmospheric and staccato way provide the foundations of what becomes a prominent element of "Our Blood". Buckner's cryptic lyrics make for an intriguing listen, snapshots and suggestions that are both visual and rhetorical. Mid album highlight 'Witness' again presents fragmented conversations, as Buckner considers the redolence of a past that (only at this moment) seems to make sense to him "letting in this chill again". Hindsight "I couldn't make it down, cloudy, in the light fading out" is again stripped down and cold. It is important to mention that Bucker plays virtually everything on "Our Blood", which gives the record a certain economical dynamic. It is this dynamic that might put off the casual, first time listener and it would be interesting to see what might arise from a decent size budget and a full band.
Concluding with 'Gang', which rises and falls as a series of mysterious observations about people who are struggling on the darker side of life "will they find the fight to run" the track has echoes of another great alt-country narrator Jay Farrar. "Our Blood" does not out stay its welcome at just over 30 minutes which somehow mirrors its non superfluous style. Richard Bucker returns with weathered maturity, exposing himself, only in obscure glimpses.