New Single: Solo Operations by Buckhead Shaman
By: Stephen Wilkins
Originally published February 5, 2019, by Plasma Magazine
Buckhead Shaman’s latest single, “Solo Operations,” is a dark psychedelic spiral into the abyss of loneliness fueled my uppers. “I wrote it (Solo Operations) during this horrible ecstasy comedown/ hangover after AfroPunk”, Tyler Hobbs told Plasma. Listening to it you can hear the synthetics oozing out of his pores, as he sings, ”I need a coffee, I need an Adderall, I need a Vyvanse…” Shaman matches the themes of synthetic comedown and loneliness with the use of Aleister Crowley as a literary device. “(The) Lyrics come from me wondering if Aleister Crowley had ever been heartbroken like I was at the time.” That narrative paired with the fuzzed out vocals and specifically the drum machine later in the song create a world that is both emotionally revealing and personally isolating.
Hobbs’ vocals stumble in from the start like a drunken satanist wandering the streets mumbling incoherently to himself. The tambourine solidifies this feeling and has the effect of keeping time while also letting everything feel loose and wild. Later on, when the drum machine starts, is when we start to hear the synthetic’s that have run through Hobb’s experience, like a drunk robot wrestling with its new found feelings and emotions. Each set of lyrics is paired with a subtly different composition that responds like a cohesive play with acts that combine to tell a complete and yet open-ended narrative.
Be sure to follow Buckhead Shaman and check them out live at Mother on February 6 with Apache!, Rare Demo and Satisfiers of Alpha Blue.