The other day Heather and I were taking turns trying to get Jameson Yorke to fall the hell asleep, and she mentioned a band she thought I might like, called Buke And Gase. This is a pretty unusual event in our household, being that I’m a new music blogger, fairly current on all the various scenes (in particular bands I think I’d like), and Heather is, well, not. Her musical tastes tend to the more traditional mainstream alternative bands. Coldplay, for example. And then beyond that into folk-cum-country singer-songwriter, like Brandi Carlile; Willie Nelson; etc.
So at first I just smiled and moved on. But then she mentioned it again last night, and finally this morning, while waiting for a response on a couple of emails, I started streaming their music from their website. And was I in for a surprise. THESE GUYS ARE FREAKING AMAZING !!!
Like the Barr Brothers, who I also adore, Buke And Gase, a Brooklyn duo comprised of Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez, specialize in handmade instruments. For example, the “toe-bourine”, the “buke” (a six-strong former-baritone ukulele), and “gase” (a guitar-bass hybrid). Their music is equally hard to describe, and I’m sure they have a hell of a time in elevators. Indie rock with some punch but with a more harmonic tinge, definitely some punk influence (both were previously in the post-punk noise group Hominid). It’s been referred to as “chamber punk”, and I think that’s the most apt, most concise definition of this duo I’ve seen so far.
They’re currently signed to Brassland Records, and released their sophomore full-length just last week (January 29 2013) called “General Dome”. It took me less than five minutes to click through to Amazon and have them ship it to me on CD (I’ve been craving more physical releases recently, it’s easy enough to transfer to my iPhone when it gets here).
Stream “Hiccup” and “General Dome”, both from the new album, below. They’ve got a few dates left on their current tour, including the left coast on Valentines Day at Media Club. Itinerary below. And definitely a tip of the hat to my lovely wife, whose recommendations I will definitely pay a lot more attention to next time.
Remaining Tour Itinerary
Feb 07 – Cleveland OH at Beachland Tavern Feb 08 – Chicago IL at Lincoln Hall Feb 09 – Minneapolis MN at 7th Street Entry Feb 11 – Denver CO at Larimer Feb 12 – Salt Lake City UT at Kilby Court Feb 14 – Vancouver BC at Media Club Feb 15 – Seattle WA at Barboza Feb 16 – Portland OR at Doug Fir Lounge Feb 18 – San Francisco CA at Café Du Nord Feb 19 – Los Angeles CA at Echo Feb 20 – San Diego CA at Casbah
