The Budos Band – “The Sticks”

Knee-deep in producer Francis Falceto’s stellar Ethiopiques series, I was moved to catch The Budos Band live a few years ago, when they were serving up funked-up, instrumental jams by way of Addis Ababa circa 1972. Four years on, and the Budos are back. This time, someone’s tossed Africa 70’s stateside inheritors into their custom van, driven them down Black Sabbath way, and taught them the secrets of Magick with a “k.”

Fuzzed out, psychedelic, and dark, “The Sticks,” the first single off the band’s upcoming Burnt Offering, is the bad ass, funk-occult jam Tarantino didn’t know he needed. The first organ blast is a slo-mo heist in the making—the mastermind behind which may be the Grade A, cult-leading beard-o that inspired Burnt Offering’s throwback cover art by drummer Brian Profilio.

Despite the psych-evolution, the track preserves Budos’ brass-heavy, soulful leanings. Like all interesting outfits (and, heck, people), they’re pushing the limits of their own self-definition, or as Budos’ baritone sax player Jared Tankel put it, “We made a conscious decision to embark on a new sound.”

Welcome the new sound on October 21 with the release of Burnt Offering, and if the boys are coming to your neck of the woods, take a note from Dio, throw up your horns, and prepare to sweat.

The Budos Band Tour Dates

10-10 Asbury Park, NJ
10-11 Baltimore, MD
10-12 Philadelphia, PA
10-25 Brooklyn, NY
10-30 Nashville, TN
10-31 Asheville, NC
11-1 Louisville, KY
11-7 Washington, DC
11-8 Pittsburgh, PA
11-15 Live Oak, FL
11-21 Hamden, CT
11-22 Cambridge, MA

Bonus round: You can check out the video for Burnt Offering’s title track here.