Avi Buffalo - At Best Cuckold

by Jamison Murphy

In the four years since Avi Buffalo’s brilliant (if inconsistent) self-titled debut, they’ve been somewhat easy to forget about. While frontman Avi Zahner-Isenberg showed skills as a guitarist and melodist that far surpassed the infinite other Shins-y guitar pop bands of the late 2000s, they still tended to blend in with their numerous peers.Which is why “So What,” the shimmering, insanely melodic first track of At Best Cuckold, is such a welcome reminder of why the band was good in the first place. The jangly guitars and high-pitched vocals of “So What” are familiar to the point of cliché, but Zahner-Isenberg’s grasp of the pop form and inventive guitar work elevate it to an exciting and genuinely brilliant pop song.The following tracks show the expansion of Avi Buffalo’s brand of guitar rock that we’d expect after four years, though with mixed results. There are fewer virtuosic solos and more piano-based tracks than on the debut: “She Is Seventeen” is clever and McCartney-esque, while “Overwhelmed with Pride” and “Oxygen Tank” are plodding and suffer from their relatively lush arrangements.The meticulous pop structures and polished arrangements of give the album a sheen that Avi Buffalo lacked; unfortunately, there are too few moments of brilliance to make At Best Cuckold as memorable as the debut.Check out the official video for "So What" in the Youtube embed below!

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yZmYKZmDzI[/embed]