BUKE & GASS: Among the Best 2010 had to offer

I never made a top 10 album list for 2010, but if I did, I’m pretty sure I’d put Buke and Gass’s, debut Album Riposte on that list. Out of the many girl/guy duo’s such as the Sleigh Bells, Phantogram, Crystal Castles and even The Knife, that have been making it big on the scene, Buke and Gass seem to be the most innovative. Just like many of the other BK bands  starting out, we find that even the most talented of musicians have to work the odd job to make ends meet. Sarah Barthel of Phantogram only just stopped her waitressing gig, which up until now had been a key means of financial support for her and Josh and their music. Now Arone Dyer’s (the lady part in Buke and Gass) odd job is that of a bike mechanic in good old Brooklyn, and it is the nature of this messy hands on job that has a very unique influence on Buke and Gass’s sound. 

Lets first take a muinte and unpack  Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez’s band name of Buke and Gass. The Buke is Dyer’s Baritone ukulele, one of the ensemble of instruments she and Sanchez fashioned for their band needs. Sanchez’s Gass is a Guitar/Bass hybrid, which allows him to play both the rhythmic guitar parts and/or driving bass parts that we hear along with Dyer’s Buke and voice. Because it’s just the two of them, they have home made amplifier’s which give them that big sound, of which the percussion can be attributed to the kick drum being pounded by Shanchez’s right foot and a home made device Arone calls a to-bourine attached to her left foot. 

So to make my point about their sound being unique, I want you to think about their instrumentation and lack of samplers and loop pedals which we have so gotten used to in the sounds of our other loved girl/guy-duo-bands. Buke and Gass have a certain jam band like quality to their sound, with every song split in to several parts; a sort of fruit salad plucked and chopped from their garden of home recorded jam sessions, and served tastefully on a plate, for all willing to eat and be nourished. 

I have posted a 5 min clip of their Tiny Desk, NPR concert to give you a taste. To see the full 16 minute show go to the NPR music website. The song you see here is called Revel in Contempt, track 6 on the album. For anyone who likes quality music as a part of their growing eclectic collection of music, Riposte will not disappoint, and the Raizuli says buy it.