Being Buffalo - Before We Fall Apart

Victoria Gottschalk reviews the debut album from Being Buffalo, who are setting tongues wagging in the UK right now: 

An album by a band named after bovine? Really? Well, okay then. While electronic folk music is probably the best way to describe Being Buffalo, there’s no doubt that the Londoners certainly have their own sound. From the first track, The Weather, to the last song, The Boatman and the Wife, there’s a distinct sound ringing through your ears; it’s not completely original but it’s certainly not manufactured either.

Songs like Defend Our Night and I Don’t Want To Grow Up are easy to imagine being played during a pivotal scene in the latest reality television show (at the moment Caggie and Spencer FINALLY got together in Made in Chelsea, Defend Our Night SHOULD have been playing. I’m certain of it). But then there are songs such as Grandad John that blow the contemporary folk music feel out of the water and make you want to grab a Scotch on the rocks and hang out with your grandparents for the day. I love that one album can make you feel so many different emotions.

The strongest track on the record is probably April, simply because it combines everything Being Buffalo are about. It’s the kind of song that makes you open a bottle of wine and reflect on every relationship you’ve ever had. Not negatively, but more in a “you know what, you’re an idiot but I miss you” kind of way. “It’s not like I’ll ever want you back, but I miss having you around,” is something we all wish we could say to the nice ex's that have graced our life and it’s the type of thing we all want said to us. C’mon guys, admit it, you’re staring at your phones right now, hoping a text pops up with those lyrics included…no? Just me then…

The only slight fault with Before We Fall Apart comes with the tracklisting. There’s a killer of a tune called Hope which is the fifth song. It should come last, because the lyrics sum up the entire album. Nitpicking aside though, Being Buffalo are exactly what the music industry has a space for right now; honest lyrics, catchy tunes and a fucking ace album.

Review by Victoria Gottschalk. You can buy Before We Fall Apart for peanuts here.