Green Buzzard: Eazy Queezy Squeezy

Scott Wallace
4th Apr 2016

Hype can be a blessing or a curse. Green Buzzard had some of the hugest hype of any Australian band in recent memory that saw them opening for UK indie stalwarts The Vaccines last year when the Oberon five-piece only had a couple of songs out in the wild. In this case, the hype actually seems deserved, as Green Buzzard's debut EP Eazy Queezy Squeezy demonstrates.

Green Buzzard's sound isn't necessarily new, but it's a sound you'll suddenly realise you were aching for as soon as you hear the chiming guitar chords that open the EP on "Diggin' a Hole." Along with Newtown locals DMA's, Green Buzzard have been heavily compared with Britpop brats Oasis, but their full, textured sound is reminiscent more of other, more idiosyncratic British groups of the 1990's like Suede or Pulp.

The band self-produced the EP with some help from producer/engineer Ryan Hazell and mixing from Burke Reid, who has worked with Courtney Barnett and DZ Deathrays. Green Buzzard have put their fingerprints all over this record, expanding the palette of whirring guitars, gleaming keys and laconic vocals of their earliest singles into a collection of six addictive, endlessly replayable tracks.

Slowing down the tempo on the snarling "Crystal Eyes," which sounds like it could be an outtake from U2's classic Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois-produced LP Achtung Baby, Green Buzzard further reveal a great ear for simple, but effective melodic interplay. The following track, the infectiously uptempo "Frequency Overload" plays with stop-start dynamics and twisting guitar leads to brilliant effect.

Even introducing some maniacally strummed acoustic guitar on "Green Time," or putting a voluptuous organ at the forefront of the fantastic closer "Motorcars & Jaguars,"Green Buzzard never lose sight of their gorgeously hazy, blurred rock 'n' roll sound. These nineteen minutes of music somehow sound even shorter than they really are, because the band has a strong sense of identity that allows them to play around and experiment and still maintain a cohesive flow.

It remains to be seen whether Green Buzzard can truly come into their own on a full-length release. Eazy Queezy Squeezy is consistently good and often great, but still tends to feel a little too referential to bands that have come before. Nonetheless, this EP is a terrific debut and proves that the band are worthy of the hype that some may have deemed premature.

Eazy Queezy Squeezy is out now on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Green Buzzard are playing an EP launch show at Newtown Social Club this Saturday April 9.