If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Kelly Davidson Studio Leave it to Buffalo Tom to release a song called "Autumn Letter" right at the beginning of Spring. The Boston alt-rock legends' latest single is a quiet power ballad that just sounds like vintage Buffalo Tom. It's a little bit quieter and more laid back, but that's just about perfect at this stage of all of our lives. It's a little country and a little folk, but they've always added those elements into their alt-rock sound. Plus, some of their most beloved songs are power ballads, and "Autumn Letter" certainly qualifies. Sonically, the song certainly sounds like a Fall song, but there is enough optimism for it to still work this early into Spring. Bill Janovitz (vocals/guitar) says of his band's latest single: “It reminds me of a certain kind of classic Buffalo Tom song from our Let Me Come Over era. It’s big, open chords are strummed way up high on the capo’d guitar neck, with a little Van Morrison Celtic melo...

Photo by Kelly Davidson Studio Buffalo Tom are experiencing a career renaissance lately, selling out every show they're playing and starting to release music again. For a band coming up on their fortieth year, what's remarkable is how great the new songs are. The latest is "New Girl Singing" (an ode to the band's favorite female voices including Mavis Staples, Grace Paley, Stacey Abrams, and Ruth Gordon) is a Chris Colbourn song that fits right into Buffalo Tom's classic 90's songs. It's an alt-rock song leaning heavily into 60's rock, folk, and country (all things I never would have admitted twenty-five years ago). Sure, it's a little slower than the classics, but aren't we all. This is a band entering their middle aged years perfectly without leaving behind what we've always loved from them in the past.  You can watch the video for "New Girl Singing" below. Jump Rope is due out May 31. For more on Buffalo Tom, check out the ...

Photo by Kelly Davidson Studio Buffalo Tom are coming up on their fortieth year of being a band, and the Boston based trio just released a brand new single. "Helmet" could be a lost B-side from the 90's. It has that alt-rock with some hints of country that Buffalo Tom perfected thirty years ago, although I never would have admitted that back then. This one is just under two and a half minutes of a rambin' kinda mid-tempo rocker that is going to press the nostalgia button for a lot of us despite being brand new. It's a little bit slower than most of Buffalo Tom's classic songs, but that's to their credit with "Helmet."  Guitarist Bill Janovitz says of the new single: “As with most things in Buffalo Tom, we have a chemistry and a natural sound that emerges no matter how we try to manipulate it. ‘Helmet’ is a prime example of this phenomenon, a song that could be at home on any of our previous records, but I associate it mostly with the layered cris...