Buchanan’s debut album Human Spring, is somewhat of a concept album, based on the “incredibly loose” story of a young soldier, conflicted by the torrent of emotions the battle throws his way.
Whether or not listeners fancy the idea of a concept album, the album does an incredible job of capturing the expanse of emotions endured by the protagonist.
“Temptation” is determined and a little angry, “The Punch” is the acknowledgement that in getting wounded comes strength, with the lyrics declaring defiantly that, “falling is never easy, so push me over, so I can hit the ground, when I have you around…all we need’s just a punch to make us stronger.”
The soldier-in-a-movement persona, whether easily identifiable or not, is a strong vessel through which to deliver emotions that could seem ordinarily overworked, or about the painfully common theme of love.
Throughout Human Spring there is lashings of Coldplay, identified when a power chorus is about to erupt, and Sigur Ros, heard as the falsetto is struck, but it’s all coated with a refreshing and garish-free Australian underdog quality.
The Coldplay quality may be the result of mastering by Geoff Pesche, who’s worked with the English super-band, or maybe Buchanan have just got a knack for music matrimony – that is, creating catchy, emotion thick melodies and absurdly poignant lyrics.
But of course, what makes the album appealing is not its ability to mimic other artists, but it’s originality and profound sincerity.
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The title track is an example of the debut’s honesty and one of the album’s biggest in terms of sound. The closing line, ”ain’t got no violent, still we will make our mark,” repeatedly triumphantly for the song’s minute long close, is excruciatingly beautiful.
Josh Simons, the front man and key lyricist for Buchanan, clearly has a way with words, and with his band have created a tremendous debut. Theirs will be a musical trajectory well worth following.
