BUÑUEL — OXBOW‘s Eugene S. Robinson, Afterhours and A Short Apnea‘s Xabier Iriondo (guitar), The Framers‘ Andrea Lombardini (bass) and Il Teatro Degli Orrori’s Franz Valente (drums) — is a transatlantic supergroup that specializes in heavy music that’s been described as beautiful, merciless and unforgiving.
Creatively, the band has always been led by instinct and the id-like impulse to expressed completely unfiltered and unvarnished emotion through song. And through their close musical alliance, they’ve displayed a seemingly innate ability to craft material that warps and buckles with complexity, freedom, tenderness and primeval energy — simultaneously.
“BUÑUEL is a name that embodies a certain cultural and literary reference, which evokes an entire world,” the band’s Franz Valente says. “Like his films, our Buñuel is surrealism. We take the listeners into a place that’s suspended between dream and reality.” Eugene S. Robinson adds “What we’re doing with BUÑUEL is to carve out a very specific glimpse… partly into hearts of darkness, but more specifically into the depth of our secrets. Secrets we keep from each other, ourselves and whatever futures we’ve imagined for ourselves. We are ultimately trying to communicate something direct and deadly about the human condition.”
Released last October through SKiN Graft Records and OVERDRIVE Records the transatlantic supergroup’s latest album, the Timo Ellis-produced Mansuetude derives its title from an archaic word, which means “meekness’ or “gentleness.” Certainly, for a band known for being punishingly heavy, the title seems like an ironic juxtaposition. Firmly anchored in the band’s long-held penchant for surrealism, the album sees the band taking every opportunity they can to stretch their musical tendrils towards discomfort and the deconstruction of tradition, all while reaching absolute abandon.
Sonically, the album’s material encompasses many moods — sometimes simultaneously — while blurring elements of post-hardcore, avant-noise, hard blues, post-industrial, symphonic thrash, metal and free-jazz, played at great cost. The record is, in Robinson’s words “extreme but articulate.”
The album also features guest spots from Converge‘s Jacob Bannon (vocals), The Jesus Lizard‘s Tomahawk‘s and The Denison Kimball Trio‘s Duane Denison (guitar), Andrea Beninati (cello) and David Binney(alto sax, vocals).
In the lead up to the album’s release, I wrote about two of the album’s singles “Class,” and “American Steel,” which featured The Jesus Lizard’s, Tomahawk’s and the Denison Kimball Trio’s Duane Denison.
Album single “A Killing on the Beach” is a feral and unhinged, genre-defying bruiser of a track, which features elements of post-punk, art punk, metal, No Wave and more that also serves as the perfect bed for an equally unhinged vocal performance by the band’s Robinson.
Directed by Annapaola Martin, the cinematically shot visual for “A Killing on the Beach” is a surreal and brutal fever dream shot in the breathtakingly gorgeous Basque Country.
The video comes on the transatlantic supergroup’s long-awaited North American tour to support last year’s Mansuetude. The tour, which includes a July 1, 2025 stop at Le Poisson Rouge will be the first tour to feature the band’s newest member David Hemery (bass) and will feature openers Today Is The Day for all tour dates, along with Murderous Again, Cancerslug and Spiritual Poison, for portions of the tour. All tour dates are below.
BUÑUEL – 2025 North America TOUR DATES
Today Is The Day: all dates
* Murderous Again (Lydia Lunch, Tim Dahl, Kevin Shea)
** Cancerslug
^ Spiritual Poison
6.24 Atlanta GA @ 529 TICKETS**
6.25 Orlando FL @ Conduit TICKETS**
6.26 Cape Coral FL @ Nice Guys TICKETS**
6.28 Asheville NC @ Eulogy TICKETS**
6.29 Philadelphia PA @ Concourse TICKETS* ^
6.30 Providence RI @ Alchemy TICKETS* ^
7.01 New York NY @ Le Poisson Rouge TICKETS* ^
7.03 Portland ME @ Geno’s TICKETS* ^
7.04 Montreal QC @ Piranha Bar TICKETS* ^
7.05 Ottawa ON @ The Rainbow TICKETS* ^
7.06 Quebec City QC @ L’anti TICKETS^
7.07 Toronto ON @ Lee’s Palace TICKETS^
7.09 Grand Rapids MI @ Pyramid Scheme TICKETS^
7.10 Chicago IL @ Sleeping Village TICKETS^
7.11 St Paul MN @ Turf Club TICKETS^
7.12 Kansas City MO @ Record Bar TICKETS^
7.13 Oklahoma City OK @ 89th St TICKETS^
7.14 Denton TX @ Rubber Gloves TICKETS^
7.15 Austin TX @ Come And Take It Live TICKETS^
7.16 Little Rock AR @ Whitewater TICKETS^
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