Buffalo Tom

At one point the darlings of the guitar-driven, Chuck Taylor-clad set, Buffalo Tom heralded the underdog with their heartfelt Noise Pop. Blisteringly loud guitars, struggling vocals, and an exhausted rhythm section spent their formidable years bent on making it to the finish line -- borrowing on fans' souls and sleeping on their floors along the way. Their brilliant Let Me Come Over LP embraced a cleaner production style, and found the band in an only slightly more controlled state of bedlam; the euphoric thunder of "Staples" and heart wrenching melancholia of "Taillights Fade" stand as testimonial. The Buffalo Tom of late has sacrificed the distortion pedals for cleaner amplification, offering miles of spotless guitar melodies and leaving room for Bill Janovitz's refined vocals. While they are no longer the Converse call-to-arms of college radio past, even BT's most lackluster efforts will always shine brighter than most.