Buck Curran – No Love is Sorrow

Buck Curran’s No Love is Sorrow is a gorgeously stark collection of haunting guitar soundscapes and meditations on the strange complexities of adult life.

Curran, whom you may remember from the psych-folk duo, Arborea, might be at his most personal on this record. Throughout the album, his lyrics touch on deep-seated existential anxieties, like the all-too-familiar fear of bringing a child into a world that appears to be growing more dangerous, hateful and toxic each day. The instrumental pieces even feel intensely intimate. Songs like the acoustic “Marie” and the piano-based “Django (New Years Day)” ache with a haunting desolate production and raw, visceral melodies that feel like they were born from the artist’s very marrow.

From rigid loops of intricate fingerpicking to stoic vocals and the constant use of cold reverb; there’s an overall tension that builds throughout the entire record that is impossible not to feel. This stress seems to come to a head on the electric typhoon that is “War Behind The Sun.” Waves of pulsating distorted guitars growl in the background as Curran embraces his inner Eddie Hazel and lets loose some searing acid-fueled solos.

After that track rumbles quietly into the cavernous acoustic closing track, “Lucia,” it feels as though the artist has had his cathartic release and his inner demons have now been vanquished.

Serene and absolutely stunning in its honesty, No Love is Sorrow is a musical experience that’ll leave a profound mark on any listener, no matter what their taste is.

You can purchase an instant download of the album or preorder it on DMM Lathe Cut black vinyl ahead of its October 10th release here.

-KH

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