BUFFALO KILLERS - Amplifier, AMG

Amplifier review of "Buffalo Killers": Garage rock fans of every stripe grieved at the news that Thee Shams had called it a day after the 2005 release of their thunderous Sign the Line. In fact, the Cincinnati quintet wasn’t breaking up so much as reconfiguring; brothers Zachary and Andrew Gabbard pared the group down to a trio, with keyboardist Joey Sebaali moving behind the drum kit and Zachary picking up the bass. Thus reconstituted, the threesome christened themselves Buffalo Killers and headed to ex-Afghan Whigs bassist John Curley’s Ultrasuede Studios to create the slowburn fury of their eponymous debut. From the slinky, psychedelic blues riff of “San Martine des Morelle” and the Stonesy slide lightning of “The Path Before Me,” it’s apparent that Buffalo Killers are working a slightly more sophisticated and yet still viscerally powerful angle on their debut. Although Thee Sham’s Sign the Line hinted at this direction last year, the Gabbards and Sebaali are clearly energized as they roar through this lysergically-tinged set of garage blues nuggets like Cream and Crazy Horse channeling the spirit of the Standells at a basement seance. Buffalo Killers are the real raw deal. - Brian Baker

AMG review of "Buffalo Killers":
In their days as members of thee Shams, the Gabbard brothers kicked out down and dirty, high adrenaline rock, slamming the Rolling Stones straight into the heart of psychedelic garage. Now with their new project, Buffalo Killers, the brothers are joined by drummer/pianist/harpsichordist Joseph Sebaali and have closed the garage door and embarked on a journey into classic rock. "San Martine des Morelle," which opens the Buffalo Killers eponymous set, makes their evolution crystal clear, presenting a slowly simmering track that's bluesy to the core, but lashed with Jimi Hendrix-esque wah-wah guitar. "Down in the Blue" is even slower-paced, all the better to luxuriate in the heaving blues riff, while "Children of War" is even heavier, a pointed reminder of that time in the late '60s when bands discovered the power of slowing R&B down and thrusting up the bottom end. (...) And that's the incredible beauty of this set: rock fans will recognize all of these influences within virtually every vocal inflection, guitar riff and solo, and many of the rhythms as well, but each is lovingly showcased in an entirely new context. And for all its "classic" sound, the Buffalo Killers incorporate more modern ones as well,a shade of Brit-pop atmosphere here, a tinge of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal there. What the Jesus and Mary Chain were to the '80s, Buffalo Killers may well be to this decade, brilliantly bringing the beloved sounds of yesterday into a new millennium. - Jo-Ann Greene