Buffalo Tom formed in 1986 and are singer-guitarist Bill Janowitz, bassist Chris Colbourn and drummer Tom Maginnis. They took their name from Buffalo Springfield and the first name of their drummer.
Hailing from Boston, Mass. They came out of the same east coast music scene as The Lemonheads and Dinosaur Jr. and musically sit as somewhere between the two of them, rockier than Evan Dando's gang but less grunge than J. Mascis' outfit.
Like Dando and Mascis, Bill Janowitz is another of those great nineties alt rock songwriters that seem to be mostly forgotten about these days although the band have only released two albums in the last fourteen years so I guess it's down to them.
BIG RED LETTER DAY is probably their best known album and opens with three great singles the anthemic euphoria of 'Sodajerk' and 'Tree House' and the and the slow-build ballad 'I'm Allowed'. 'Would Not Be Denied' is another great slow burner.
Listening to this again for the first time in so long I'm struck by what a shame it is that they're not more prolific. Janowitz has a a fantastic voice. He sings with a sandpaper rough, gravelly voice an alt rock Joe Cocker. The only really duff track on the record is 'My Responsibility' which misses his gruff delivery.
SODAJERK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkUqiQpnD0U&feature=youtube_gdata_player
TREE HOUSE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHXrFnZxCFw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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