Ramscur Records
2008
A Buzz, A Buzz
About This Album
The Bombadil quartet may have taken their name from a character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, but there's nothing whimsical about this North Carolina band. They take their music, a wide-ranging brand of folk and rock, seriously, and they take lyric writing even more seriously. "Trip Out West" is a simple folk-like tune. Daniel Michalak plays basic piano and sings the bluesy lyric in a clear pop tenor. "Julian of Norwich" sounds like an Irish folk song played by a Bolivian folk band. (Michalak and guitarist Bryan Rahija spent a year abroad studying in Bolivia.) Zampona (Bolivian pan flute), banjo, and military snare drum make this quirky tale of a young girl buried alive sound even odder. "Smile When You Kiss" is a dizzying collection of random images that advises listeners to laugh at the madness around them. The cheerful melody and Rahija's offhand delivery produce a low-key psychedelic vibe. "Rosetta Stone" is a pop/rock tune about miscommunication, with an unusual stop-and-start meter accented by tinkling piano, dissonant guitar, and befuddled blasts of harmonica. The rhythms are also slightly disjointed on "Buzz a Buzz," with fuzzy bass, nervous hand percussion, unexpected synthesizer swells, and acoustic guitar doing a spastic waltz.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.