THE WHITE BUFFALO Once Upon a Time in the West [Unison Music Group] Given his ramshackle narratives and sober sentiments, Jake Smith (a.k.a. the White Buffalo) seems to fit comfortably into the alt-country lineage of Uncle Tupelo and its offspring, Wilco and Son Volt. But if the album title suggests an Ennio Morricone film score, it’s also true that the dark characters Smith imagines are not unlike Clint Eastwood’s Man With No Name—fueled... 

THE WHITE BUFFALO Prepare for Black & Blue [Rough Shod] Take this EP’s title at face value: These are rough-and-tumble tales of damaged relationships, drinking and blood spilled. While “Love Song #2” is indeed a love song, it’s one that’s twisted up with drunken fights, an absent lover and the loneliness of the road. “Black & Blue” contrasts its gentle acoustic setting with a vivid portrait of a volatile relationship, while “In...