‘Passing Time Peacefully’ is Holy Water Buffalo’s latest single released in support of their upcoming EP, titled ‘Heart Attack’. A song of upbeat riffs, cozy, roomy beats, some impassioned singing, and a terrific garage rock-tinged sound that will leave you equally nostalgic and hyped.
Based in Los Angeles, Holy Water Buffalo is a three-piece band whose not-so-vintage sound harkens back to the roomy, garage affairs of the late nineties and early noughts, a la No Doubt and Avril Lavigne. The pop heritage too is jubilantly obvious in the sound of their latest release ‘Passing Time Peacefully’.
The song’s hearty guitar riffs are simple rhythmic chord stabs, in pure pop-punk air, but it is the tone that got me hooked. The light, restrained overdrive does a great job in making the sound snazzy enough, without being overpowering or actually ‘punk’. The pop strain follows in the soulful lyrics and the charismatic performance of lead vocalist Tommy Brunson, who’s also on guitar duty, in which he channels some turn-of-the-century Modest Mouse sounds. Particularly heightened in the mixing job done by Sam Woodbury, the song’s alternative pop sound comes courtesy of a roomy mix that’s only in part because the song was recorded in the band’s home studio, and in part a result of a seriously pretty production choice from the group and Woodbury.
The tight-sounding, woody, and tastefully overdriven short guitar solo in a highlight, and the delicious sound to the drums throughout the song is definitely another one. ‘Passing Time Peacefully’ is a gregarious ode to the past and to the present, with its rustic, retrospective sound, and its quirky production. An easy-going summer jingle that carries far more depth than what first meets the eye (ear).
