Buffalo Nichols

Also known as Buffalo, Nichols is recognized as a notable blues guitarist and vocalist who possesses the deep, thoughtful voice of a narrator. The capable singer plays a slide guitar and sings about the torment of wandering.

Nichols had a passion for music from a young age and intended to pursue a career in it. He fell in love with playing the guitar at a young age, which provided him a source of self-expression and self-discovery.

On his second album, "The Fatalist," Carl "Buffalo" Nichols does things with the blues that might catch you off guard. There's 808 programming, chopped up Charley Patton samples, washes of synth. There's a consideration of the fullness of the sonic stage and the atmospherics of the music that can only come with a long engagement with electronic music.

But this is no gimmicky hybrid or attempt to turn the blues into 21st century music by simply dressing it with skittering hi-hats. Nichols' vision for the blues is of a form of music that's intimately tied to everyday life in 2023, something that's reflected not only in the choice of instrumentation but in the complexities of the songwriting and the gray areas his lyrics explore.

This is music that comes straight from the present, and as such, it's a reminder that the same shit that drove the first blues singers to pick up a guitar is still present behind the throbs of deep bass hits today. The Fatalist sounds unlike any blues record you're likely to hear in 2023.