Avi Buffalo draws an instant comparison to The Shins: falsetto vocals, jangly guitar, and a number of almost-recognizable riffs. But Avi Buffalo isn't The Shins. For one, their members are about half the age. Two just finished high school, one's still in high school, and the oldest member is 21. I think that without doubt, their talent at such a young age contributes to my fascination with this band. Secondly, the the layering and texture on many of their tracks almost exceeds anything executed by the Shins.
I first caught wind of the band when they chose to run an ad campaign on Indie Shuffle. It probably took me at least a week before I decided to look into their album, but when I got a hold of it I was pleasantly surprised to find that the variety of tunes within kept me entertained throughout. The band's name finds its origin in the lead singer, Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg. Some blogs have pointed out that that's a pretty awesome name, drawing comparisons to Omar Rodriguez-López. While Avi certainly isn't at the same level as Omar, he does compose all of the music and lyrics for the group. This ultimately gives the listener slight insight into a) his youth and b) his dirty mind. With songs like "Summer Cum" and the formerly mentioned "Five Little Sluts", it's no surprise that Avi asks us "Where's Your Dirty Mind?" in the last track of the album.
As mentioned earlier, the track-to-track variety held within this album keeps me listening. For example, 3 minutes into the track "Coaxed," the jangly guitars found throughout the album give way to a varied chorus of wind instruments, forming a perfect segue to the track "Five Little Sluts" (which contrary to its title, actually maintains a pretty unoffensive sound). Similarly, the most mature track of the album, "Jessica," heads into a dreamy landscape of scattered percussion, piano and soothing vocals. My favorite track is probably "One Last," which features the vocals of Rebecca Coleman, who clearly defines the song, giving it an undeniably Americana/Country-Folk sound.
Overall, this album is worth a listen. It won't be working its way into my favorite of the year, but for someone with as severe a case of musical A.D.D. as myself, this album is great.
SIMILAR SONGS
