Screaming Trees
Buzz Factory


4.0
excellent

Review

by Daniel Dias USER (12 Reviews)
August 16th, 2015 | 20 replies


Release Date: 1989 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Screaming Trees' last album under SST Records, Buzz Factory is certainly the band's most consistent one up to that point and a true highlight in its career.

Screaming Trees have always been of the most distinctive and versatile bands of the Seattle music scene of late 80's and early 90's. Though they never quite achieved the mainstream attention the material they put out deserved, they've always been held in high regard by a majority of grunge fans. After all, there was a time, B.N. to be precise (Before "Nevermind"), when the Trees were, alongside the Seattle contemporaries Soundgarden, Skin Yard and Mudhoney, considered the band that could take the grunge sound to an entirely different level and take it beyond the small town it once originated in. Combining 60's psychedelia, Led Zep's brand of heavy blues rock and a punk sound inspired by many bands of SST Records, which the Trees also belonged to once, the band often relied strongly on Gary Lee Conner's distinctive guitar tone and Mark Lanegan's strong baritone vocals to provide its iconic sound.

Before eventually moving on to Epic Records to record Trees' more successful releases, such as the 1992 breakout album Sweet Oblivion, containing a hit single "Nearly Lost You", arguably the band's most famous tune, and the 1996 mellow acid grunge trip of Dust, Screaming Trees had quite an interesting run under SST Records. The most consistent and intriguing project there would definitely be the last album released under the label, Trees' 4th output Buzz Factory. Produced by Jack Endino, a legend in the grunge community, responsible for launching many of the genre's most talented bands' careers, the album is probably the first fully developed and truly excellent effort the band managed to pull off. While previous releases only showcased a glimpse of the Conner brothers and Lanegan's talents, just presenting sporadic moments of greatness, Buzz Factory is the product of the Trees' constant growth and truly an underrated gem.

Jack Endino makes his presence felt in the album, in a great way. His duty as a producer is executed perfectly, as production's the best it's ever been in any Trees record up to that point. While, in the past, overly fuzzy guitars focused on heavy distortion and feedback, overpowered just about anyone else, here there's an almost effortlessly tremendous blend between Gary's wah guitar and a strong rhythm section. Lanegan has also improved upon his past performances here, showing an improvement both in his vocals and as a songwriter in general. Jack may have been the strength necessary to help Screaming Trees evolve as a band, and it shows in Buzz Factory. Opener "Where The Twain Shall Meet" is a fan favorite and a definite sign of a band packing a much stronger punch. As Van Conner's pounding bass line and Mark Pickerel's steady drum beat provide a strong groove, Lanegan's vocal delivery is top notch, culminating in an excellent chorus and a truly memorable song as well.

Standouts really abound in Buzz Factory, as it basically presents the band's best musical moments up to that point and some of the best songs they have. While somewhat different than a lot grunge bands of the time, the Trees certainly take influence from quite a bunch of great outfits, namely Soundgarden in "Black Sun Morning", a fierceful and heavy track featuring a superb and hooky chorus in which Lanegan elevates his tone, retaining similarity to Chris Cornell. Trees' punk influences also show in tunes such as a quick and catchy "Windows" and a superb energetic track "Revelation Revolution", but it's the band's classic fuse of punk and psychedelia that stands out just as surprisingly. Evidencing as much influence from Cream as they do from The Stooges, the band's very own sense of originality and songwriting chops help refine Trees' recognizable sound, here represented by bright moments such as "Wish Bringer" and "The Looking Glass Cracked". There's even room for some great acoustic instrumentation, which had been absent from the band's previous outputs, in "Flower Web", which adds a lot more depth to Buzz Factory.

If there's any criticism that should be pointed out at the album it'd an occasional moment of filler, found here in "Yard Trip No.7". Also, "End Of The Universe" has some charm for a while but quickly loses steam as it's a bit overlong. Aside from that, Buzz Factory is an excellent album, Screaming Trees' first that sounds fully developed. While its predecessor Invisible Lantern already hinted at a step in the right direction for the Conner brothers, as it sounded more a product of an original band rather than a fuzzy tribute to great 60's psych bands, Buzz Factory is the consolidation of the strong ideas the previous release had to offer. An honorable mention goes out to "Subtle Poison", one of my favorite Trees tunes and a "should've been" grunge signature song, definitely a highlight in the album. If you want an introduction to Screaming Trees, Buzz Factory serves as a starting point as amazingly as any other future Trees release would do, as it really is a contender for one of the band's strongest releases.



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user ratings (68)
3.6
great

Comments:Add a Comment 
danielcardoso
August 16th 2015


11770 Comments


Very underrated.

NeroCorleone80
August 16th 2015


34618 Comments


Might check this cause its on SST

danielcardoso
August 16th 2015


11770 Comments


Check it, Nero. Better than Ultramega :]

NeroCorleone80
August 16th 2015


34618 Comments


Doubt it ;) but we'll see

danielcardoso
August 16th 2015


11770 Comments


Ahah they're not even very similar, just messin' lol.

But i do hear some Stooges influences here so seriously listen hard man :]

NeroCorleone80
August 16th 2015


34618 Comments


Def will, havent really listened to much Screaming Trees as a whole

danielcardoso
August 16th 2015


11770 Comments


The album's a great place to start, definitely one of my favorite Trees records and underrated in general. Sweet Oblivion and Dust are also great. Imagine a kickass psychedelic grunge band with Jim Morrison on vocals.

PappyMason
August 16th 2015


5702 Comments


Super review man, you've been pretty prolific of late. Pos'.

Sounds interesting, Sweet Oblivion and Dust are the only albums I've heard from these guys.

some sort of grunge legend in the grunge community - I'd change this to 'a legend in the grunge community' tbh, it reads a bit awkwardly.

danielcardoso
August 16th 2015


11770 Comments


Ah, thanks man :]
In my opinion, all 3 albums are equally excellent so I'd say give it a go.
Will change that, thanks for pointing it out.

BMDrummer
August 16th 2015


15164 Comments


whoa this didn't have a review, good job

danielcardoso
August 16th 2015


11770 Comments


Thanks man, yeah they deserve more love here.

mryrtmrnfoxxxy
August 17th 2015


16699 Comments


couldn't ever get into this group but i love his voice

manosg
Emeritus
August 17th 2015


12710 Comments


Great review Daniel, have a pos.

"Nearly Lost You" is the only song by these guys I've heard. I always felt the song had those influences you've mentioned (minus The Stooges), so good job on that.

danielcardoso
August 17th 2015


11770 Comments


Yeah, Mark Lanegan is great.
Thanks, man. Nearly Lost You is great but not ST's best tbh.

SharkTooth
September 3rd 2015


14937 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

man, this Lanegan sounds different from his stuff that I heard

danielcardoso
September 4th 2015


11770 Comments


Yeah, his solo stuff is quite a departure from Screaming Trees' sound.

AcidCaravan
April 1st 2017


504 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Screaming Trees' best album along with "Invisible Lantern". In my opinion.

danielcardoso
April 2nd 2017


11770 Comments


Nice one bud, probably my second favorite behind Dust.

SmashIsTheWay94
September 27th 2017


2266 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Just now checked this purely because I've been on a big qotsa kick and love Mark's voice more every time I hear it. This is very solid.

grannypantys
April 14th 2020


2582 Comments


getting into early Trees now for some reason. This is easily a highlight



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