Album Review by EDF
Is it not great that when you first play a new album, you start guessing about what the singer’s or group’s background might be? The name Buddahead might be a bit of a clue to the group’s background but the songs will lead you to other conclusions. Born in Iran, raised in the UK and based in New York, Raman Kia was nicknamed Buddahead by another musician and used this to name his band. With the likes of David Campbell, Beck’s father, arranging strings on the album, this gives the songs an added cinematic feel.
There is something English sounding about HOLDING ME BACK which is hard to pinpoint. It might be the folk like double tracked vocals on the songs verses that sound like something from the early seventies. The emotional STRONG is the nearest thing to what the late Jeff Buckley would have produced if he were still alive. The song writing throughout this album has an effortless feel to it, similar to what the Finn Brothers are doing. Kia is often quick to criticise his work, as he would like “to take a step in the same direction as some of the greatest songwriters of our time.” You never know, going by the quality of this album it just might happen.
