From the bottom, anything else looks like salvation. Is it time that heals all wounds, or is burning bridges the way to cauterize them? The middle ground between wreckage and recovery might feel like a pendulum’s swing: it’s a shaky arc, and one not always pointed in the right direction.

Pop-punk’s target practice is recklessly one-way, spraying whoever deserves the smoke. BUZZARD, the debut full-length from Potionseller, chooses not to be so quick with the draw. After years of spitfire alt-rock, the Grand Rapids quintet slows down and stretches out.

What should feel like a shame spiral shared by boozers and losers turns out to be more gracious—wry, sage advice via hooky anecdotes. “It’s named after something my dad always said: don’t be a buzzard,” vocalist Austen Reno explains, “but the record is about being a buzzard.”

Buzzard behavior is for all seasons: spring’s whistles of new beginnings (opener “Time Travel”), summer’s Road Trip 2025 playlist (“Sharkbait”), autumn’s browning ugliness (“Eureka!”), and yes, those classic Michigan winters (closer “Fear,” featuring Austen’s sibling Jayson).

Before you battle with this bird, traveler, take note. Banjo hasn’t been in the genre for decades, at least not around the church basement, so they do that now. For a band that’s tinkered with everything from ska-punk horns to fizzy synths since forming, such a choice might not come as a surprise, and neither should the record’s edge. Narrators relish biting the curb alongside lashing guitars on “Sniper Rifle,” leave any positive progress behind to fester inside the churning post-hardcore of “The Dummy,” and binge drink into oblivion on “Crashout.” Listeners looking for reprieve from this reflection can find it in “Irish Exit,” a track that flips the classic fantasy of running away into a dizzying display of homesickness and aimlessness. Distraction and thirty-something despondency brims with arena-rock swagger, becoming the LP’s biggest, brightest spot before collapsing into its coda, piano and strings peering out under the glare.

Buzzards past, present, and future: presenting your new straight shooter.

Track List:

1. Time Travel
2. The Dummy
3. I Would Do Anything for You (For Money)
4. Sort It Out
5. Irish Exit
6. Sniper Rifle
7. Crashout
8. Eureka!
9. Sharkbait
10. Fear

Pressing Info: Red Smoke /500

Credits: BUZZARD was written by Potionseller in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Produced & mixed by Ryan Malicsi at Eureka! Records in Wyandotte, Michigan Mastered by Brett Romnes

Album visual media created by Jake Weber

Release Date: May 15, 2026

Please Note, this item is for PRE-ORDER! All items are expected to ship by MAY 15, 2026. *Any orders containing a "Pre-Order" item will ship together when the pre-order ships. Please make a separate order if you wish to receive non pre-order items before the pre-order ship date.* Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.