Review: The White Buffalo 'Year Of The Dark Horse'

The White Buffalo aka Jake Smith, Year Of The Dark Horse

By Mike O’Cull

Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter and musician The White Buffalo, a.k.a. Jake Smith, takes listeners through a year in the life of a man on his new album Year Of The Dark Horse.

Out on the Snakefarm imprint and is the eighth studio effort The White Buffalo has released to date. Grammy winner Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Brothers Osborne, Fidlar) produced the set at his Neon Cross studio in Nashville and helped Smith make the most individual and adventurous record of his creative career.

“With this album, I wanted something outside of what I’ve ever done. I wanted to open up,” Smith says. “Do something dangerous. I’m hard to put into a singular genre as it is, but now I really wanted to take away any kind of preconception or pigeon-holing. And don’t ask me, cos I don’t know what it is! It’s a genre-bending thing: there’s elements and influences from ELO, Daniel Lanois, Tom Waits, The Boss, circus, pirate music, yacht rock, and I’m driving and pushing some of these numbers in a way I’ve never done before.”

Jake Smith is a powerful songwriter and storyteller with a resonant baritone voice and a taste for the darker side of American roots music. His music has been used in the shows Sons Of Anarchy (where it was nominated for an Emmy Award), This Is Us, Californication, The Punisher, The Terminal List, and the films Shelter, Safe Haven, and West of Memphis. His tales of drunks, devils, and misfits have earned him a global following and tours with Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Steve Earle, Flogging Molly, and other major artists.

Year Of The Dark Horse is a concept album of sorts, telling the story of one lunar year in the life of an anti-hero main character. Smith parallels the changing seasons with the changing stages of a relationship. He speaks of drunken indiscretions, blame, love, and loss. We get 12 unique scenes that somehow all connect with each other in a profound way that most songwriters couldn’t duplicate.

Smith opens the set with the percolating, mid-speed synth pulse of “Not Today.” It’s a hopeful, beginning-of-the-year song that quickly becomes a tale of resolutions not kept. Smith’s voice is striking in its baritone range, clarity, and fortitude. He’s backed here and throughout the album by his regular road and studio partners Christopher Hoffee (bassist/keyboards/guitars) and Matt Lynott (drums). The three musicians make a wise, nuanced unit together and communicate these songs perfectly.

The delicate “Kingdom For A Fool” is a lament for our protagonist, who has traded his dreams for a hollowed-out day job and an empty apartment. Smith’s soft-spoken vocals are offset by some tasteful, understated steel guitar and a chilled-out beat that takes its time to develop. It’s a heart-wrenching, melancholy song that’ll linger in your mind for a long while.

“Love Will Never Come” gets heavy and noisy, showing Smith’s Tom Waits influence. Its rough vibes then morph into the quiet “Spring Song” in a way that makes you admire the level of songcraft on display. “She Don’t Know That I Lie” is a twisted waltz with a dreamlike atmosphere imported from another world. Somehow, Smith makes all this and more fit together in a way that makes you feel like a participant in his drama, a feat that’s beyond impressive.

Year Of The Dark Horse is the kind of record that reveals itself slowly through multiple listenings. There’s no flag-waving or grandstanding here, no flailing guitar solos to cover up weak songwriting. Every note and word on the album is placed where it belongs and is full of meaning. Don’t miss deep cuts like “Am I Still A Child” and “Donna.” The White Buffalo takes us through one heck of a year and sends us out better for the experience. That, friends and neighbors, is what writing songs is all about.