Review by Jonathan Monahan
I didn’t know Buffalo Bill 1 and I still don’t.
However, very infrequently, sequels stand on
their own and prove to be better than the
original. I don’t know if this is the case with
this mouthful of a title, given that there are no
torrents up for the 1987 cult classic, but let’s
assume that it is. It’s not laziness, by the way,
it’s a savvy time-saving assumption.
I Knew Buffalo Bill, Episode 2: Attack of the
Clones, is the brainchild and throatchild (if
such a thing exists) of Jeremy Gluck, best
known as the lead singer for late 70’s ‘surfrock’ band, the Barracudas. Think the Beach
Boys, but 15 years later and Canadian/English.
Sounds chilly, no? He’s joined by Robert
Coyne, who every other reviewer has pointed
out is the son of the now deceased, great,
Kevin Coyne, so I suppose I should include
that, because it seems to be of paramount
relevance to the sound of this album.
Thankfully, this is a million miles away from
Surfin’ OTT.OW.A . We’re skirting the
ambiguous line between folk, indy, and bluesy,
classic rock. It’s a line so ambiguous, most
people would claim it doesn’t even exist.
Doubting Thomases (or Thomi) aside,
Memory Deluxe holds up well.
The keen-eyed obituary-creepers among us
will point out that, of all the contributors to
Vanilla I Knew Buffalo Bill, back in 1987,
Jeremy Gluck is the only one still alive. Is it
relevant? I suppose it adds a little pressure to
34
the legacy follow-up, or maybe it takes some
off. This is building up to be a 26 year version
of Chinese Democracy, but Slash is dead
rather than trying to remain relevant in side
projects. It kind of stands to reason that
Memory Deluxe would be somewhat
entrenched in death and regret, then. With
track titles like Old Father Death, Blood,
Killer, and Sleeping Sleeping, you could
probably be forgiven for jumping to
conclusions, but hold your horses… the
would-be single from this LP, We Will Fall
Hard is nothing like the nihilistic, similarlynamed Stooges track. It’s an upbeat, minimal,
little love song, or at least that’s what I got out
of it.
There are a few standouts for me as far as I
Still Know What You Did Last Buffalo Bill
goes. Evelyn, for one, is pure old school indie
without the drawbacks of sounding like it was
made in a coal miner’s shed. It’s all the good
of the old but with modern production values.
It’s quirky, and interesting in a way I haven’t
heard in a while. Rainshowers could very
easily be a Stones B-side from back before
Jagger and Richards gave-up on writing decent
songs. There’s a slight country vibe to it, but
that, in my mind only cements my first
thought. It’s cool, but in the sense that your
parents used to use it, back when saying
something was cool was actually cool. Late
and Lonely meets somewhere between the
4.0
Stones and New York Dolls, but a hell of a lot
tidier. It’s well worth a listen to anyone who
gets nostalgic talking about the heyday before
music became industry, when there was still
heart in being poor, out of work, and one of
those romantic, struggling musicians. Sleeping
Sleeping is steeped in style, like a rock n’ roll
gypsy’s take on Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive
Soundtrack but I’m not sure if there’s much
more to it than that.
Some of it is a bit wanky and at times, the
lyrics are a little ropey for my tolerances, but
I’ll leave you to decide on that yourself rather
than go into specifics here and tint your
perspective. I will say for sure, that this album
sounds better the second time you hear it. It’s
coming from way out in left field if you’re
getting your daily sustenance from empty
musical calories in the trash you’ll most likely
be consuming, so do give it two chances if
you’re up for something different.
All in all, Memory Deluxe: I Knew Buffalo
Bill 2, The Legend of Curly’s Gold has some
tidy guitar work, husky vocals, and solid
production values. Is it the modern classic
other reviewers have built it up to be? I don’t
think so, but it’s far better than mediocre and
these days, that’s about all you can hope for.
I’m holding my breath for Buffalo Bill with
a Vengeance, or maybe Buffalo Bill 3: Beyond
the Thunderdome. They haven’t deci