Buffalo Tom - Three Easy Pieces Album Review

Buffalo Tom
Three Easy Pieces
Label, New West
Album Review

In the UK, Buffalo Tom never really achieved the level of acclaim that their honest indie rock deserved. They suffered from (rather unfair) comparisons to Dinosaur Jr, although their sound was always based on straightahead rock. The band haven't recorded since 1998's Smitten, which was rightly considered a weak addition to their canon. Thankfully, Three Easy Pieces sees them right back at Let Me Come Over standards. Some of the songs, especially Thrown and Bad Phone Call, which bookend the album, are as great as Taillights Fade and Soda Jerk. There is melancholy in the great rock tale, You'll Never Catch Him, and some nice classic Dinosaur Jr'isms. There's nothing big or clever about Buffalo Tom, just proper music, told well, and played without guile. It's the kind of music that men with their first tinges of grey can sing at full volume in the car, and it's all the better for not trying to be anything different. This isn't just a good comeback - it's among their best albums (a bit like Dinosaur Jr's comeback, then...).

4/5