aaamusic | On 13, Aug 2010

Here we go again, with yet more Sub-Pop released dreamy teenage rock to please the ears. And yet despite all expectations and slight resentment at the precociousness of Avi Buffalo, ‘Truth Sets In’ is, in fact, a rather lovely way to spend three minutes.

Things ease into the mood with an acoustic guitar fade-in before a charming tinkling melody is added and layered gently piece by piece, creating a hazy, idyllic atmosphere for the listener as another tale of growing up is spun out. Although the lyricism is bordering on languid at best, the naïve and idyllic pleasure found in harmonised male/female vocals and the truly captivating melodies and instrumentation raises this song, not to mention the band, a considerable distance above most of its irritatingly twee brethren. Whoever did production on this song also deserves mention for engineering an entirely smooth sound that retains all the emotion contained within the sound – with such an understated charmer of a tune little aspects like the fluttering guitar scales underlying the verses and the delicate keyboards, it could be too easy to flatten this in production to a bland pop song. Instead, this balanced, dreamy sound shows the mark of a true professional in both the musicianship and the way it has been mixed. The instrumental outro too provides another little hook to draw listeners in, as it leaves the melody feeling almost unfinished, but not so much in a lazy manner as a way that sums up the band: even at a very young age they are showing themselves to be considerably accomplished musicians, but their journey is by no means over. Entirely likeable without being bland, Avi Buffalo have a bright future ahead of them.

Author: Katie H-Halinski