Buck 65 must like to make things difficult for himself. After developing a cult following in the underground with his Language Arts album series, some people may consider his second official record on Warner an attempt to discard his number and trade his U for an E. While Buck has somewhat forsaken his hip-hop roots for a more introspective, folk-rock approach, he still stands as the very same watcher, the jagged nomad with stories, lessons and morals to bestow.
Once known for unfortunate album structure and ridiculously esoteric subject matter, Buck treats both cornerstones as old hat in the wake of a traditional 18-track-long observation of the facets of human nature. From a piercing portrayal of the aftermath of infidelity with his girlfriend ("Tired Out") to a look at similarities to his father ("Roses and Bluejays") to a tutorial on the classic art of shoe-shining ("Craftsmanship"), Buck 65 brings life out of all of his concepts, however simple.
One of the better examples of Buck's newfound propensity for more personal written works is "Sore", whose every verse serves as a testimonial to the problems in Rich Terfry's existence: he smashes his unreliable car, masturbates in a hotel room, and struggles with loneliness. Though it strikes as an uncomfortable, off-kilter rhyme session, Buck's excellently descriptive writing style makes the track not only listenable but statements like "phone don't work and God's at a staff meeting" and "I look at my photo albums and all I see is strangers" also make it completely relatable.
The most important facet of Buck's first truly commercial endeavor is the inclusion of a continual thematic series of songs revolving around a single river. Treating each track as a conceptual goldmine, Buck describes the setting, stops attempted suicides, drowns by accident, falls in love with a girl with aquatic qualities, and experiences the power of a gun in a riverside town. But the mind-blowing "Riverbed 3" creates a bevy of vivid characters, including "the one-eyed cyclist who never wears any socks," a guy who "wears two watches at one time" and is "not the best ventriloquist, but he wants to be," and "Big fat Nigel who works as a florist," who is "openly gay and he looks like a tourist." Which all shines a light on Buck's greatest strength: character development.
Much like he's moved away from the more common rap topical states, Buck 65 has stopped producing, in the most basic manner of speaking. Instead of simply mining for samples like he once did, he now works with a band called the Savant Guard (taking samples from their instruments) and a production team called The Entity. The style isn't far from what most Buck fans will be used to, but it does lend the overall sound of the project a more personal, organic touch. From the murkily reverbed space-bass puddle stomp of "Leftfielder", to the upright bass-backed dub bounce of "Sore", to the gorgeously folky acoustic guitar crisscross of "Tired Out", Buck 65 has left his sloppy underground production for a more mature, refined look at the art of beatmaking.
The only downside to this vastly different project is the forced nature of his new persona. For an artist who started his career creating characters to rhyme under, he seems to have trouble adapting to his position of rappin' woodsman, even if it is closest to his real life. "50 Gallon Drum" comes off like Buck 65's overt self-portrait as the most eccentric emcee in the world, even if he told us this through his previous work without such a flamboyant representation. Saying that "I like art made of garbage, a little pain is good for you" and "it's a shiny day and the dog shit smells like strawberries" doesn't make me think "what an interesting and weird recording artist"; It makes me think, "How can you sound pretentious when trying to sound as earnest as possible?"
A few boring beats and some failed concepts crop up at points, but on the whole, Terfry has discovered a happy medium between folk and rap, turning his initial disdain for the lack of innovation in hip-hop into a more diverse sound. You won't find the Sketch Artist or The Centaur here, but this is the same Buck 65, just slightly more grounded in reality.
