Album Reviews

On album number ten, Buffalo Tom kick things off with single ‘Helmet,’ a song that transports you right to a dive bar. Smell of stale beer not included. It’s a bit more honky tonk than what I’m used to, but still instantly recognizable as Buffalo Tom. They make it clear from the get-go that they aren’t planning on reinventing themselves on ‘Jump Rope’. And why should they? Their sound has worked for them since the nineties and continues to do so to this day.

While people first took notice of Buffalo Tom in the heydays of alt-rock, Bill Janovitz & co never had too much in common with their grungy contemporaries. They never did angsty and their sound has only grown warmer and more comforting since. ‘Come Closer’ is a study in understated beauty, ‘Little Ghostmaker’ brings the country ramble of the Stones to mind and ‘In The Summertime’ - sung by bassist Chris Colbourn - is a beautiful late night porch song.

Saying that most of these songs would not look out of place on any of the band’s early albums, could be perceived as a negative. But it is in fact testament to the band’s ability to keep on writing songs that feel like a hug from a friend that you haven’t seen in a while.