Posted on: July 8, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

7/15 – Hey Joe’s – Cleveland, MS
7/16 – Proud Larry’s – Oxford, MS
7/18 – Black Cat – Washington, DC *
7/20 Middle East Upstairs, Boston
7/21 – Piano’s – New York, NY
7/23 – Brooklyn Bowl – Brooklyn, NY
7/24 – The Saint – Asbury Park, NJ
7/26 – Horseshoe Tavern – Toronto, ON Canada
7/27 – Vernor’s Room – Pontiac, MI
7/29 – Subterranean – Chicago, IL ^
8/1 – The Palladium Ballroom – Dallas, TX @
8/2 – Stubbs – Austin, TX @
8/3 – House of Blues – Houston, TX @
9/08 – Crocodile Café – Seattle, WA #$
9/09 – Venue – Vancouver, BC #$
9/12 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA #$
9/13 – The Music Box – Los Angeles, CA #$
9/14 – The Casbah – San Diego, CA #$
9/22 – Newport Music Hall – Columbus, OH #$
9/23 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA #$
9/27 – Phoenix Concert Theatre – Toronto, ONT #$
9/28 – Corona – Montreal, QC #$
9/30 – Webster Hall – New York, NY #$
10/01 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY #$

* w/The Howlies
^ w/Morning Teleportation, Colormusic
@ w/Arctic Monkeys
# w/ The Vaccines
$ w/ Tennis

“I always got the hand-me-downs,” says Young Buffalo’s Jim Barrett, “all of my brother’s old clothes, shoes, and of course, music.” That brother: John —responsible for the frenzied frontman role in Bass Drum of Death—and Jim always gravitated towards the instant gratification of immaculately written pop music as well as grittier bands like Sonic Youth and Nirvana.

While hints of those influences can be found on Young Buffalo’s Young Von Prettylips EP, the band runs with them to create their own brand of “joyous noise-pop” (the Guardian.) From the testy time changes and swift call-and-response choruses of “Full Metal Whacket” to the head-circling harmonies and diabolical dynamics of “Only We Can Keep You From Harm” their debut EP is full of ready-made singles. And there’s “Catapilah,” previously released as a 7-inch (via UK imprint Young & Lost Club) that slips some psych into the mix and pays tribute to the Mississippi trio’s early days of driving out to the countryside home of bassist Alex Von Hardberger. (Young Buffalo’s rhythm section is rounded out by guitarist/drummer Ben Yarbrough though the guys often swap instruments live.) “If someone brings their best ideas to the table, we’ll try to find all the different parts to it but if we can’t, we can always switch around and someone else can have a go. By having that ability to swap instruments, we really free ourselves to find the best possible way to write songs. If definitely takes our band to a different creative level because we all feel like we have to bring out best ideas to the table, otherwise there’s a chance it won’t measure up. There’s a healthy competiveness in Young Buffalo which I don’t think is very common.”

When they bring the three strands of creativity together and put them together into a multi-dimensional whole, it makes Young Buffalo an unusual and truly thrilling band to behold. The EP was penned by all three members, collectively creating a sound that straddles the line between pop’s melodic heart and rock’s chaotic edge.

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