Buffalo Nichols

Carl “Buffalo” Nichols has the deep, methodical voice of a storyteller. He speaks in low, even tones that seem unhurried, even as his sentences amble forward invitingly—a trait reflected in the steady guitar picking and rolling vocals of his eponymous debut album, released in October. Last year, Nichols, 30, became the first solo blues artist to sign to Mississippi-based Fat Possum Records in almost two decades. The label began in 1992 by releasing music from revered artists such as Furry Lewis, R.L. Burnside, and Townes Van Zandt, and more recently put out folk music by contemporary artists the Weather Station and the Districts. Nichols’s album adds to the archive of roots music released on the stalwart label and harks back to its earliest days. His style bears the hallmarks of traditional American folk-blues—sliding acoustic guitar notes, sparse arrangements, straightforward rhythms—but his understanding of music draws on a rich set of…