Happy Monday, “Buku Love” Is a Song to Be Obsessed with This Week
Sometimes, when a song hits a lot of the right notes, I’ll listen to it compulsively. “Buku Love”—from Brooklyn-based musician Ian Turner, whose solo project Rubycon releases its first EP in December—was that song last week.
One night I was hacking down the forest that is my inbox, and I opened an email that read, “If you like Dirty Projectors and Yeasayer, I think this new artist might fit your musical palate.” I don’t mind those bands, but I wouldn’t necessarily write an enthusiastic blog post based on that recommendation. “Buku Love”—which riffs on the French “beaucoup,” or, a lot of love—is something else all together.
Usually when I get obsessed with a song, it’s because it sounds brand new. While there are probably elements within it reminiscent of things I’ve heard before (because unless a musician transcends the limits of Everything, there has to be) a song that sinks its talons into the compulsive part of my brain is one that has uncovered a previously overlooked crevice, whose elements, when mixed together, form something novel.
Suffice it to say, “Buku Love” is that kind of song. First, it’s weird. I’m not a person who enjoys carnivals, freak shows, glam rock, or tripping on acid, but “Buku Love” brings to life a mood that could soundtrack any of those scenes well. And yet, despite my apathy for most of those things, I still love this song. To listen to it is to be transported to a place not completely tethered to reality; it’s more like a room hidden deep in my brain that’s filled with stimulants, and I want to hang out in it for a very long time.
If I had to say it sounds like another band, it would be Of Montreal—who, despite the fact that I don’t love glam or acid rock, I also like a lot. I don’t know if you like that band, or living in an imaginary place that feels slightly crazed, trippy, and hard to describe, but if you do, you should like “Buku Love,” too. And in that case I am so excited for you and your new obsession. You will have a great weird time together this week, many times over.
See Rubycon live in New York City at The Bitter End this Thursday, October 27, at 8pm.