Posted in: What's New | No Comments | Posted on May 29, 2022 by Grumpy

The White Buffalo is Jake Smith: singer, song‐writer, guitarist, teller of stories; an artist whose voice – an emotive timber‐shakin’ baritone – seems directly linked to a greater truth; an artist who will not be swayed by fashion or restricted by genre.

And now, The White Buffalo releases new studio album, ‘On The Widow’s Walk’ – an 11 strong, loosely linked collection of dark thrills produced by Shooter Jennings, who also plays piano and keys. Following in the footsteps of his father, country legend Waylon Jennings, Shooter doesn’t believe in sticking to the rules. He works with a diverse selection of artists, from Marilyn Manson to Tanya Tucker, and his collaboration with The White Buffalo has produced a special, signature release.

Of the six studio albums and three EPs thus far issued under The White Buffalo banner, ‘On The Widow’s Walk’ is the most collaborative and organic; recorded in under a week with the ocean and a sense of longing acting as underlying themes, it’s also Jake’s first for Snakefarm Records, a young label within the Universal Music Group focussing on roots artists.

Raised in Southern California, Jake – later to adopt The White Buffalo banner (“It sounds bigger than a single person!”) – delivers music that is hard to define; yes, it’s stripped and it’s spiritual; yes, it draws from rock, soul, folk, blues and Americana; and yes, it has a darker pulse and a first‐take feel; but ultimately, across a catalogue including significant placements in TV, film and games plus over 200 million streams, it always sounds precisely like him. Like Jake Smith.

“For me, that’s the ultimate goal,” he confirms, “to be something original. I like the fact that I can be on the outside, a little Tom Wait‐sier. I guess I have an island mentality, I just do what I do, and it all comes from the one source.”