This summer, skip: Buff Roshi

Devil You're a Liar (Cephalophone Music)

By Eleanor Whitney
Published: July 4th, 2010 | 7:00pm

Buff Roshi is the creative project of film and commercial scorer Michael Muhlfriedel, who is joined by guitarist G.E. Stinson, singer Rene Wilson, and trumpeter John Fumo. Already, the group’s Web site boasts that music from Devil You’re a Liar graces numerous commercials and unfortunately, the background to commercials is where this record should have stayed.

Devil is filled with technically proficient, electronically driven songs that start slow and quirky and build up to a respectable, head-bobbing beat and tempo. Wilson’s smoky and sultry voice slides through tracks made livelier by samples and effects manipulated by Stinson, yet the album doesn’t rise above an average work of down-tempo house music.

It’s unclear who the intended audience for this record is. The beats aren’t hard-driving enough to appeal to techno lovers, though one could easily imagine a club remix of “Set Controls for the Heart of the Sun.” It’s a tad too experimental to appeal to the smooth-jazz or down-tempo R&B set, as opener “Blue Days” attests. Overall, it just doesn’t hold your interest, leaving you feeling like you should be watching something else.

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Buff Roshi official Web site

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