Buffalo Tom superb tune their melancholic melodies for Bounce Rope

Buffalo Tom: Bounce Rope

(Scrawny Information)

LP | CD | DL

Out 31 Could 2024

The pandemic and plutocratic presidents are on Buffalo Tom’s radar as Massachusetts’ mighty energy trio return with an album that furthers their sound into folkier waters. Sam Lambeth places his Helmet on, however he’s not going by way of Hell.

How typical of Buffalo Tom to ship their ‘lockdown’ file a number of years too late. For the affable Bostonians have all the time been gloriously out-of-step with the zeitgeist. Even once they hit their excessive water mark within the flannel-flecked early-to-mid ‘90s, their gritty however swish sonic palettes regarded extra in direction of Nebraska than Nevermind. 

Buffalo Tom dwell in their very own bubble, rising from hibernation each five-to-six years to launch constant albums which might be lovingly untroubled by the occasions. However like The Killers’ Strain Machine and Taylor Swift’s Folklore earlier than it, Bounce Rope has the sobering, acoustic-driven really feel of a file born out of isolation – particularly as a result of band’s songwriters having extra time to jot down throughout the pandemic.

This stripped-back really feel shouldn’t be a shock – even on the top of grunge, Buffalo Tom have been releasing breezy, bucolic information like Large Pink Letter Day, whereas their earlier album continued to shed frontman Invoice Janovitz’s Townsend-esque energy chord chops in favour of extra textural guitar motifs. However there’s an nearly campfire high quality to the hazy strums and delicate riffs that dominate the group’s tenth long-player. 

Janovitz has by no means sounded so Springsteen as he does on the shuffling Our Poverty, the place his reflective rasp is bathed in sparse six-string thrives and Tom Maginnis’ scattered drums. In the meantime, the languid, lumberjack rock of fellow Boston natives The Lemonheads rears its head on the candy however weary travelogue Pine For You. Earnest standout Autumn Letter – sure, it’s onerous to imagine it’s taken Buffalo Tom practically 40 years to jot down a tune known as this – identify checks Steinbeck’s gloomy Grapes of Wrath over the band’s trademark scuffed melodies and Janvoitz’ gravelly baritone.

The moments the place Buffalo Tom are at their extra frenetic and freewheeling are few and much between, however Come Nearer’s portentous swathes of rumbling distortion and Janovitz’ eerily indifferent vocal will fulfill anyone eager for the extra rugged contours of the band’s work. Elsewhere, the uneven, bristling Helmet turns the screw on Trump (“there’s a broken captain on the wheel, in case you couldn’t inform,” sighs Janovitz) however its politicised disenchantment is evergreen sufficient to be related for a lot of future free world leaders. 

As all the time, Janovitz’ corrosive croak is neatly juxtaposed with bassist Chris Colbourn’s melancholic, delicate timbre. Right here, he contributes extra songs than every other Buff Tom album, and a few of his strongest, most well-rounded work up to now. New Lady Singing and its chiming acoustics recall Van Morrison’s ‘70s period, whereas the gospel-tinged, downcast strum Recipes and wistful haze of Within the Summertime look to the the band’s everlasting touchstones – particularly, the Stones, Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan. 

Buffalo Tom might exist in a vacuum, however that has supplied them with the power to proceed perfecting their craft, maturing and exploring with out sacrificing their heart-on-sleeve songwriting and appreciation of rousing melodies. To the the irony of the album title, Bounce Rope is a file with none skips.

~

Buffalo Tom are on Fb and X. They tour Europe this autumn.

All phrases by Sam Lambeth. Sam is a journalist and musician. Extra of his work for Louder Than Conflict is offered on his archive. You will discover his music on Spotify.