Richard Buckner is an American singer-songwriter from San Francisco, born in 1967. He is associated with alternative country, americana, country folk and singer-songwriter traditions, and is known for moving between acoustic songwriting and more abstract approaches.

Career

Buckner begins his recording career with Bloomed (1994), an acoustic album recorded in Lubbock, Texas and shaped by the songwriting tradition associated with that state, including the work of Townes Van Zandt. In 1996 he releases Devotion & Doubt on a major label, with backing from members of Giant Sand, and the record shows a more adventurous approach to songwriting and arrangement.

He later returns to smaller labels and continues to build a reputation for critically respected, independent work. His 2000 album The Hill, issued on Chicago-based Overcoat Recordings, sets poems from Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology to music and plays as a single track of nearly thirty-five minutes.

In 2002 he issues the EP Impasse-ette followed by the full-length Impasse one month later. His self-titled album is released independently and reissued by Overcoat in 2003, which becomes his final release for that label.

Later releases and collaborations

In 2004, an edited version of “Ariel Ramirez,” from the album Since (1998), appears in a Volkswagen Touareg television advertisement. He is later aligned with Merge Records, which releases Dents and Shells (2004), Meadow (2006), Our Blood (2011), Surrounded (2013), and the 7-inch single Willow b/w Lost.

He also records Sir Dark Invader vs. The Fanglord (2005) with Jon Langford of The Mekons for Buried Treasure Records.

Background and style

Buckner lives in Brooklyn, New York, and has spent a number of years in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. His work is generally described as part of the alternative country movement, while his later albums show a growing interest in more abstract musical forms.