Last summer, Buffalo Gospel came out with its outstanding and emotionally wrought first full-length, We Can Be Horses, which straddled conventions of classic country and Americana whilst easily earning a spot in the mid-twenties of our 50 best Milwaukee albums of the 2010s (so far) list. Boasting a cast that includes Riverwest singer-songwriter mainstay Heidi Spencer (Heidi Spencer And The Rare Birds) and Allen Coté (ex-The Championship and Juniper Tar) among its ranks, not to mention the timeless lyrical abilities and incomparable twang of bandleader Ryan Necci, Buffalo Gospel is nothing short of an all-star team. If We Can Be Horses was a well-received film, “Here Lies Our Lovin’” would be the evocative extended movie trailer for the highly anticipated sequel.
That said, Necci says the song “probably won’t live on the next record,” which the frontman indicates he hopes will be out by summer. Instead, the song is one Necci had “sitting around” and played for Field Report’s Christopher Porterfield. “We got a little carried away and eventually it became a full tune,” Necci says.
In addition to the vaunted cast of current collaborators, Porterfield provided some guitar work and pedal steel. Ryan Ogburn added mandolin and electric guitar to the mix. The final product of a semi-spontaneous recording session, “Here Lies Our Lovin’” is a gorgeous yet tragic extension of Horses, with downtrodden and lovelorn lyrics to match the rise and fall of Porterfield’s pedal steel. If this is just a B-side, we’re now even more excited for the next record.
Buffalo Gospel headlines a December 20 show at Anodyne (Walker’s Point) that also features Heidi Spencer And The Rare Birds, and Simon Balto. The show begins at 8 p.m. and costs $10 at the door.