Buffalo Hunt — Ambitions of Ambiguity
Recorded under the moniker Buffalo Hunt, Ambitions of Ambiguity, the solo debut by Austin-based singer-songwriter Stephanie Hunt, is the sort of record that’s easy to love on first listen—a modern, seamless blend of psychedelic pop, Laurel Canyon-style song craft and midcentury honky-tonk touches. But it’s also music to spend time with.
The trials and tribulations of finding your purpose in the complexity of modern society is interwoven throughout Ambitions of Ambiguity.
In the words of Stephanie Hunt “It is hard to know what to be ambitious about- or what to care about for that matter. Being a human is tricky business. This album is about that ambiguous process of developing yourself. It doesn’t have a lot of answers but explores the in-between parts.”
Hailing from Austin, Hunt grew up surrounded by music. Her father began gigging in New Orleans at age 12 and went on to study with classical guitar maestro Andrés Segovia; her sister is the critically lauded singer-songwriter Phoebe Hunt.
“Life Not On My Term” mixes psychedelic pop elements with a tribal beat and syncopated claps and a lyrical dive into the uncertainty of contemporary life. “Addicted to Reality” features innovative vocal arrangements and indie folk, jangly instrumental sounds.
“Which One of Us Is To Blame” is a vocal duet with Shakey Graves and is a slow temple country waltz. “Love to Be Loved” sounds like she is singing all alone to you in a big dark room. The songs are versatile and cover a wide range of modern styles .
Featuring performances and production by some of the brightest talents of the current Texas scene—the stunningly versatile Texas Gentlemen; Hunt’s fiancé, the acclaimed singer-songwriter Shakey Graves; and drum great McKenzie Smith, to name a few–Ambitions of Ambiguity touts many, many musical and sonic layers. Exquisitely crafted guitar melodies and decorative keyboard stabs and smooth synthesizers slide in about out of the songs and add to her wonderfully precise and lackadaisical vocal stylings. To say it another way, this is a take-a-puff-and-put-on-the-headphones kind of singer-songwriter record. Hunt’s lyrics, which frequently and cleverly upend your expectations or surprise you with metaphor, follow suit.
I’ve spent some time with this wonderful album and I think I’ll just let it play on again. You can find more here: https://www.buffalohuntmusic.com/music
And on Bandcamp here:https://buffalohunt.bandcamp.com/album/ambitions-of-ambiguity-2
Here is an official video for “Addicted To Reality”: