Proving Life's Too Short To Be Serious
It’s quite possible that its a buffalo’s debut album could be the soundtrack for a summer of misspent youth. Bouncing along on a feeling of euphoric optimism regardless of the lyrical content, ‘Don’t Be Scared’ snatches at the gang mentality of friends against the world and refuses to relinquish its grip. Claiming to be “a little bit country, a little bit The Cribs and very Mancunian”, it’s a bit surprising to discover that for all their professed love of Manchester, none of its a buffalo are actually natives of the city they’ve adopted as their own; and they're on a mission to prove to all that its not all bleak up north.
With a touch of The View’s DIY fervour sprinkled throughout and more than a nod to pop’s uplifting beats and catchiness, ‘Don’t Be Scared’ beckons you to sing along with each track as your feet mindlessly tap along with unquestionable enthusiasm. ‘Marbles’ opens proceedings with a jaunty guitar riff that chimes with indie infectiousness as its simplistic rush of tapping beats and chanting vocals ensnares all with a stupidly wide grin merrily plastered across its face. ‘Somewhere In Range’ niftly swoops in to pick up the pace, cashing in on the promising start of ‘Marbles’ by injecting buzzing drum beats amongst a sing along chorus whilst ‘Outlines’ dances past, pausing only to offload some appealing shouting chants to liven things up even more.
Things do go a tad astray for its a buffalo half way through, the filler tracks rear their heads as ‘Climb, Climb’ seems too drawn out, never really going anyway whilst ‘When It Went Dark’ initially opts for the acoustic route with worrying effect. Luckily it’s a short lived decision as normal order is quickly resumed with ‘Divorce Song’, a lyrically hard hitting affair with a sprightly bounce to take the edge off before ‘Run And Hide’ stabs and pounds with fun filled glee, brandishing shouting choruses amongst buoyant riffs that climax in a “run” “hide” shout off to bring things to a fitting gang fuelled conclusion.
Their name may be questionable, their insistence to avoid any form of punctuation in its spelling may have English teachers across the country weeping in despair, but its a buffalo have a certain spark that won’t fail to ignite with you. This is feel good music to while away the summer to, to reclaim your youth to and more importantly just to have fun listening to. After all, life’s too short to be serious all the time.