Buffalo Tom
Beggars Banquet
It seems like only yesterday that Buffalo Tom was a fledgling indie rock act just out of college, hitting the alternative radio waves for the first time with an energizing raw-edged sound that bore obvious allegiances to Dinosaur Jr. and The Replacements. Hard to believe they've been around almost a decade and a half now and have grown into a genuine modern rock powerhouse. But it's the truth. It all started in 1986 in Northampton, Massachusetts, when the band's members, then all U-Mass students, kept bumping into each other at shows. Recognizing their mutual interest in certain kinds of music, they began playing covers together, and before long were penning original material. After college, they dived into Boston's fertile late '80s indie music scene, which featured such greats as Dinosaur Jr., The Pixies, The Lemonheads, Blake Babies, and Galaxie 500.
Buffalo Tom's 1989 self-titled debut on SST made a big splash while drawing comparisons to Dinosaur Jr., partly because Dinosaur's J Mascis produced it. But with each subsequent release, the group carved out a more recognizable niche for itself. With two great early '90s records, Let Me Come Over ('92) and Big Red Letter Day ('93), Buffalo Tom signaled that they had left behind the adolescent grunginess of their first couple of releases and developed into a mature folk-edged power pop group, equally capable of meaty rockers and introspective ballads. But critical adulation notwithstanding, big time commercial success has eluded the group, even after two more fine LPs, 1995's Sleepy Eyed and 1998's Smitten. In 2000, Buffalo Tom cemented its heavyweight status by releasing a greatest hits collection, Asides from Buffalo Tom, on Beggar's Banquet.
The high-flying folk-rocker, "Mineral," for many of the band?s fans the most paradigmatic BT song, can be found on Asides. It first appeared on Let Me Come Over.
Jesse Ashlock
last updated:
08/10/01
Similar Artists:
J Mascis and The Fog, Dinosaur Jr., The Replacements, Husker Du, Pavement, Centro-Matic, Built To Spill, TW Walsh, The Influents, Kevin Salem, The Dambuilders, Anastasia Screamed, Teenage Fanclub
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