PREMIERE | Buckets, 'Good Luck Bad Dog'

Dabbling at the diners with Buckets; photographed by Taylor Jones.

There is something incredibly special when a band codifies their own style and sound. Like observing our earth being formed from the chaotic cataclysm of the big bang into a cohesive and incredible ecosystem — it is breathtaking to behold. From song sketches, demos, workshopped rough drafts, voice memos fleshed out into something larger and countless rehearsal sessions, the result of this degree of blood, sweat, tears, spilled beers and late nights lends to something that pop culture critics and casual writers attempt to wrangle into flowery and snarky prose alike. Those on the outside looking in are taken with awe, the envious bunch take scrupulous mental notes as the rest of us just vibe. We need something ecstatic to remind us why we are still alive. A sign that joy, truth and beauty can still exist even as so much of modern day existence is consumed in the clutches of calamity that exceeds the extents of our collective consciousness and imagination. And while it certainly seems that things are definitely not getting better, there are still unlimited reasons to get out of bed, get excited about life and everything wonderful that is still possible in our shared global village.

And out of the unstoppable tumult emerges Los Angeles’ latest rising new breakout act Buckets as they present the world debut of their highly anticipated second album, Good Luck Bad Dog. Gaining fans upon the release of their lauded 2021 self-titled, the quartet consisting of Tanner Houghton, Sasha Massey, Hiram Sevilla, and Mitch Rossiter deliver one of the year’s most exciting and surprising releases. Amid a deluge of bleakness found amid our doom scrolls, breaking news headline chyrons and other nerve jolting transmitters of distress, Buckets unleash a record that encapsulates the mental state of 2023. It’s got everything: it’s a survey of inner unrest, the alienation that arrives with adulting, the disappointment of not being whatever the heck it was your parents wanted you to be, the quandaries of making healthy choices, the pains of putting in the work and doing the work and then wondering what it all meant and what it all means anyway. Good Luck Bad Dog is all of this and so much more. It’s about messing up, it’s about making it up and trying to do better and be better and holding on for dear life the vestige of hope that maybe it’s all going to be alright forever after all.

"Fleeting" sets the stage for Buckets' dive into the temporal zeitgeist in a record that turns the coming of age clichés into something visceral, vicious and twisting with a velocity that mirrors life in the twenty first century. Good Luck Bad Dog like its name is about existence, reality in the imperfect tense, screwing it up, sorting it all out, the punishments we put ourselves through and so forth. The big bombast of "Judy" tackles this head on, the enui found in the dog days of youth, the wasted opportunities given and lost weekends that arrive after the week passes by in a dizzying whir. "Rinse" is about trying to make it right, a riotous ballad that deals with mental health, the feeling of being on edge and at the breaking point of collapse. The weight of the world addressed in the track spirals into the unconscious where childhood dialogues between parent and progeny guide the outro into "Better" that continues the motif of trying to get toward a better state of mind and being. Buckets deal with despondency with unflinching honesty, wearing everything on their sleeve while dealing in big bold bursts of guitar blasting licks while simultaneously not taking anything away from the sheer weight and volume of starkly honest sentiments.

"Running" delivers an interlude that trots with a catchy ode to apprehension and social ambivalence that will have you whistling and humming gleefully along in a song that will inspire you to skip out on whatever plans you and your friends might have made on a frenet Friday night. "Health" is about weighing out the pros and cons of partying with reckless abandon, the temptation to pull benders with your besties that transforms into a nearly two minute sing-a-long that floats with an upbeat fancy in a transcendent tribute to transgressive behaviors. Good Luck Bad Dog runs its course with the angsty crash and clamor on the closer "Tomorrow" that copes with all the inherent truths of modern life, the ups and downs, everything that frustrates the uncontainable exuberance of the human spirit. This is Buckets album about facing the world, jettisoning the modern condition of rules and regulations that dictate life's balances for something real and raw that retains a genuine conscious that has one foot in the lifeboat of self-care and the other in the dionysian jetski of self-actualization. Buckets present a record that is considerate of what the future may hold, the harsh truths of what is demanded of us to earn our keep among the public commons while carving out time for revelry and excesses — while retaining an attitude of idiosyncratic mindfulness all the while.

Buckets provided us with an exclusive introduction to their mighty new second album:

Glamming it up with Buckets; photographed by Taylor Jones.

Good Luck Bad Dog is mainly about self-reflection and growth. A testament to both experiences and relationships shaping how our lives progress, but also shaping the continued direction of this band. Lyrically, the album feels a lot like a personal diary, albeit one that rhymes, and reads like a deep look into the psyche of someone in their late 20’s/ early 30’s. Instrumentally, it feels like a big step up from where we were when crafting LP1; we have definitely settled into our sound a bit more and matured as a collective of artists.

Chilling and channel flipping with Buckets; photographed by Taylor Jones.

Compared to our first record, the writing of these songs was a bit more collaborative and organic. They were written and recorded in the same room (our rehearsal space/ studio in Cypress Park, LA), which I think helped a lot with crafting exactly how we wanted them to come through in the recordings. Similarly to our self-titled album, a lot of experimentation went into the tracking process. We utilized a reel-to-reel tape machine, vintage dictaphone, and all kinds of microphones and auxiliary instruments to create the soundscapes heard on the EP. Mixing analog and digital has always been something we’ve enjoyed playing around with, and there’s a lot of that on GLBD. On the final day of tracking, we decided to implement some group vocals and pepper in some trumpet parts to select songs; a late night in the studio with a bunch of friends really tied the bow on wrapping up the record.

Buckets’ Good Luck Bad Dog will be available October 20 via Broom Closet Records. Pre-order here.