siLLy puPPy Another album (#4), another change in the eclectic world of BUCKETHEAD. As much as he has changed up his sound and genres, he also released his albums on new labels. This one on CyberOctave. While the previous albums saw the chicken lover focusing on his guitar playing skills and guest DJ electronica, COLMA is a totally different beast focusing on his sensual and tender side. This album was recorded solely for his mother who was dying of colon cancer and the purpose of it was to create a beautiful and healing listening experience for her alone. The result is an album that sounds like a different artist altogether. COLMA is all acoustic and totally based on beautiful and melancholic melodies as the basis for the songwriting.

COLMA is the name of a town south of San Francisco where the city moved all the cemeteries to in the early 20th century. The dead outnumber the living by thousands and is also Spanish for “filled to the brim” or “overflowing.” This small town is also a shopping mall haven these days but i digress. COLMA, the album, is simply a nice mellow experience that incorporates acoustic guitar with reverb effects and a few tracks that are actually very spacey. It is all instrumental with BUCKETHEAD playing both guitar and bass but it also includes percussion on some tracks, record scratching and cello and viola.

This is an album that i really didn’t like that much at first preferring BUCKETHEAD’s more energetic albums but i have to admit that this one has grown on me. Every track is clearly from the heart and the story behind it clearly tugs on my heart strings. Not just a sympathy album by any means. This is a beautifully constructed album by a master musician who is capable of the most aggressive sounds when desired and in this case the most tear jerking melodies that a musician could muster up. While all is acoustic there is a major emphasis on echo effects which has since become a staple in BUCKETHEAD’s sound. A lighthearted and emotional album COLMA is. There seem to be two camps of BUCKETHEAD lovers. One who loves the avant-garde and one who loves the more accessible. I have come to be in both camps. COLMA is a beautiful creation for lover’s of melodic acoustic rock.