Pufferbilly is a hippy, freaky, fun and flippant jam-pop
conniption fit, borrowing from funk and bluegrass as
much as the rock aspects of Phish or the Dead. Laid
Out transfers seamlessly from crispy-classic rock
riffing on the unabashedly hopeful “Change” (whose
feel-good chorus verges precariously close to aloof
hippy-dippy heart power: “Hate, it pulls us down
when it takes ahold/ We only hurt ourselves when we
let our hearts grow cold”) to sun-dried bluegrass
chug on the playful title track fable of a man tallying
up his recent revenges.
Pufferbilly bops in and out of genres (all tied together
by their full-hearted quirk jam signature): slightly
dubby reggae on “War,” full-throttle
blues on the aptly titled “Funk Groove” and acoustic beach rock (as
popularized by Jack Johnson, O.A.R., Sublime’s “Bad Fish,” etc…)
with “Holdin’ On” and “Happy” with its jubilant
chorus crescendos. The instrumentation is lush with intricate details, like the
sprinkling of flamenco on album closer, “Juarez” and the slow-brew,
quasi-goofy 60’s rock clichés on “Morrison” (where
a nice rhythmic throb of chorus almost breaks its back
on indigestible lyrics). Overall, Pufferbilly drops
a fusion that will have most jam fans grinning uncontrollably.
Favorite Track: Track 1, "Laid Out ”
