Avi Buffalo

Avi Buffalo | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 27, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sub Pop
• ASIN: B003A8ONTI
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #118,207 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Avi Buffalo is the adopted name of Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg, an 18 year-old singer/songwriter and guitarist from Long Beach, CA. Avi Buffalo is also the name of the band he formed with friends and like-minded collaborators Sheridan Riley (drums), Arin Fazio (the old man at nearly 21 on bass) and Rebecca Coleman (keyboards and vocals). It (Avi Buffalo) is also the name of his/their debut full-length album, which we are just ridiculously puffed-up about releasing on April 27, 2010. By the time you read this, they will pretty much all be out of high school. They ve toured with Beach House, Final Fantasy, opened for Vampire Weekend and found fans at KCRW and Steve Lamacq at the BBC. That s where they are now: about to follow their first ten songs into the outside world, about to celebrate a 21st birthday and about to settle into something that they could do for the rest of their lives. Note! The version of What s In It For? to be found on the album is the same as the one found on the What s In It For? 7" single that we released back in December. The version of Jessica on the album is altogether different from the version that is the b-side of that same single.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Avi Buffalo - S/T 7/10 August 8, 2010

By Rudolph Klapper VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

When precocious Long Beach young `uns Avi Buffalo released their anticipated debut earlier this year, they had all the prerequisites for their own hype machine: hot single(s), Pitchfork approval, a fairly surprising rating on Metacritic (82!). I listened to one song, judged them as an early Shins knock-off and promptly forgot about them. That's the problem with hype - too much of it and you go into the listen expecting something utterly mind-blowing, something that will live up to an almost mythic status all this blogosphere talk builds up yet rarely matches. Avi Buffalo is not mind-blowing, nor is it even one of the best debuts I've heard this year. Simply put, it's great, solid indie-pop music, music that merely portends the arrival of a band that has more potential than most their age and some pretty slick songwriting chops.

I really wanted to give this a higher rating, particularly after hearing gems like opener "Truth Sets In" or "Coaxed," songs that replicate the gentle flow of (yes) early Shins or debut-album Noah and the Whale. It's twee without being overly cute, something hard to do when your band is besieged everywhere they go by the constant addendum "but they're only 19!!!" Excellently-named vocalist Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg sounds just like a dozen other indie-pop vocalists, having mastered the art of the high-pitched, fragile whisper and the occasional faux falsetto, but it's the songwriting that elevates Avi Buffalo from the also-rans. "What's In It For?" is a fantastic pop single, marrying a beautiful melody to a stick-in-your-head hook and the kind of instant accessibility that future MTV-show soundtracks are made of. That's not a knock on the band's obvious penchant for writing songs everyone is interested in nowadays, but a testament to how well the songs click. It helps that Isenberg is actually quite the guitar player, making the unexpected fretwork on tunes like "Jessica" and "Remember Last Time" the highlights rather than the strong pop foundations the songs are built on. Even when the solos go on a bit too long, as they do most egregiously on the 7-and-a-half-minute "Remember Last Time," Isenberg's jangly guitar work is pleasant enough to forgive the youthful wankery.

But then there's songs like the lackluster "Can't I Know" or the way too much of the latter half of the album bleeds together, something that can't really be avoided when Avi Buffalo stick strictly to their inoffensive guitar-pop formula throughout. While "Where's Your Dirty Mind" and "One Last" are good songs in their own right, it's obvious that Avi Buffalo is a front-loaded record, with the best melodies ending with "Summer Cum." That last is another divisive issue with the band, being the clearest example of Isenberg's juvenile lyrical bent. But hey, he's young, and although in the future he might try a more diplomatic approach to describing adolescent love, it's nonetheless impressive that Isenberg can turn sheet stains into one of the sweeter love songs of the year. Avi Buffalo wear their musical influences on their sleeves (Built To Spill, the aforementioned Shins, Elephant 6, etc. etc.), and their lyrical direction is more Superbad than J.D. Salinger, but it's charming without being cloying, poppy without being overly sugary. Most importantly, it's the kind of debut that leaves you thrilled for what the future may bring, and that's something special.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Having Something I've Been Looking For August 7, 2010

By Mark Abrahamsen

Format:Audio CD

I think this is one of the best records of 2010, there's something quite awesome about it. Same feeling I got from hearing The Shins, Death Cab For Cutie, Vampire Weekend, Fruit Bats etc. for the first time. It's not too often I find that special quality. Definately a record that's well worth buying.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic album; fantastic group -- can't wait to hear them grow as musicians October 27, 2010

By Dog Lover 1024

Format:Audio CD

I'm not a Pitchfork kid, but I heard these guys on Sirius radio and their singles were great. I saw them live and they were great. This album is delightful and it is crazy that these guys are like 18 or something.

This has to be one of my favorite albums from 2010.