Grant Lee Buffalo
Fuzzy

THE REVIEW

After the blues-rock of Shiva Burlesque (which I recommend you to get), singer-guitarist Grant Lee Phillips formed Grant Lee Buffalo in Los Angeles and in 1993 released this excellent album: Fuzzy. A debut to be framed that grazes the borders between folk and rock, but above all, it touches the listener's heart beyond any musical genre.

The first thing that struck me is the intensity and timbre of Grant's voice, which managed to convey pleasant sensations to me from the very first listen. There are songs of fine craftsmanship, but it is the atmosphere that gives the album a unique impact which certainly does not revolutionize the history of rock but manages to be spontaneous and exciting with simple ballads. With "The Shining Hour" you can breathe the swing of the '50s, but already from the second track, pop-folk takes over with choruses as intense as they are catchy. A mix of acoustic chords and electric rock cadences paint "Jupiter And Teardrop," the poignant "fuzzy" (my favorite), "Wish You Well," and the dreamy, delicate, and subtle ballad of "The Hook" in a truly appreciable crescendo of melodic expressiveness. If much of the album risks resembling a post-Dylanesque folk treatise and marks a return to pop-acoustic music, compositions like "Stars N' Stripes" surprise by allowing more space for rarefied atmospheres, or even reaching a state of psychedelic delirium reminiscent of Velvet Underground in "Grace." It closes with the slow voodoo of "Dixie Drug Store" with Lou Reed-like accents.