Review Summary: Avi Buffalo have been getting plenty of critical acclaim but, in my opinion, not enough...
A classic band is easy to fall in love with. Whether it’s the Velvet Underground, Talking Heads, or the Beatles, it’s easy to look at a band that’s been defined as one of the greats with a heavy optimism. New bands, however, are a bit tougher to judge.
How can one anticipate what record will still be on their turntable (people still play vinyl, right?) twenty years from now? How can you tell who will be the next classic group? It’s very easy to fall into the trap of over-enthusiasm, and sometimes even under-enthusiasm. So, understanding this, I must say that Avi Buffalo is the best new band I’ve heard since Vampire Weekend.
But, what is it that I love about them? Why am I filled with so much anticipation for a band with only one album? Well, truthfully, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I love indie music with country influences? Maybe it’s because I have a lot of faith in younger bands?
Those are definitely factors in my enthusiasm, but I don’t think that either one is the main reason. The main reason that I love this band, I think, is that they don’t compromise with inability. They aren’t the best musicians in the world. Who cares? That doesn’t mean they aren’t going to play like they are. And, their singer doesn’t have a fantastic voice. So what? He’s still gonna go for that high note. It’s hard to find this much confidence in a first album. Hell, it’s hard to find this much confidence in a third album.
But, when I get done contemplating what makes this album good, all that’s left is the songs. So, how are the songs?
The album opens with “Truth Sets In”, and it’s a perfect way to start the album. It has a great instrumental beginning, and a pretty great melody. If you don’t like this track, it may be best to just shut off the album. It generally sticks to the same sound, throughout.
“Truth Sets In” is followed by “What’s In It For?”, the single from the album. This is another great song, managing to even top the first track It’s not the album’s best, but I can’t complain about it being the single: out of all the songs on the album, it definitely had the biggest chance of being a hit (none of the songs really had any chance at being a hit, though).
The album’s high points are tracks 5-8: “Jessica”, “Summer Cum”, “One Last”, and “Can’t I Know?” These are easily the best songs on the album, and they all seem to go together very well. I can almost picture all of these songs being a medley. My personal favorite is “One Last”, the most country-sounding song on the album, with one of the best choruses I’ve heard in a long time.
Upon my I-don’t-know-how-many-ith listen, I realized that the album had accomplished a rare feat: I liked every single song on it. Even the other album I was psyched about this year, Love Is All’s Two Thousand and Ten Injuries, lagged for a few tracks. So, I suppose that makes this my favorite album of the year, so far. It pains me to give that much acclaim to a new band, but I truly do love this album.
Back to the central question: why do I love this album so much? Once again, I don’t know. I guess it just feels right and, as somebody who nitpicks everything, an album that’s impossible for me to judge always gets my hopes up. Will Avi Buffalo become the next great band, or will this just be a case of beginner’s luck? There’s a very big chance that it could be the latter, but that’s okay. Even if it is, at least they managed to release one marvelous album. That’s more than a lot of bands accomplish.
