BUZZARD BUZZARD BUZZARD

Skinwalker (Communion)

This second album from Cardiff quartet Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard is a very different beast from 2022’s Backhand Deals. Opener National Rust is the closest in tone to the brighter-than-bright sounds of their last album, continuing to reflect on the state of society in a sardonically upbeat manner. But the hookline, “You’re looking out, I’m looking up,” seems to draw a line under the band’s previous material as Tom Rees’ lyrics get more and more introspective.

Tracks like Leatherbound, In My Egg and Human Compression are obsessed with the mind and body and communicate this through a dissonant sound world that really reflects the subject matter. But what is most surprising is how well this new sound – somewhere between St. Vincent and Talking Heads – suits Buzzard. Another group, making such a deliberate change of course, could sound like they’re forcing their way through. But when you listen to standout tracks like Therapy you can hear that this is a band very comfortable in its new skin.

words JOHN-PAUL DAVIES