Young Buffalo

Young Buffalo

Young Buffalo is an indie rock group from Oxford, Mississippi, active since 2009. The band forms around singer and guitarist Jim Barrett, keyboardist Alex Von Hardberger and bassist Ben Yarbrough, with Barrett and Von Hardberger starting the project after playing together earlier in rural Taylor, Mississippi. The group writes songs collaboratively, with each member contributing their own parts.

Style and influences

Their sound combines close vocal harmonies, fast guitar work and keyboard textures. The music is described as drawing on the Beach Boys, David Bowie, Neutral Milk Hotel and Animal Collective, while also suggesting elements of surf music and Paul Simon’s Graceland period. Their songs are noted for balancing accessibility with a layered and unconventional structure.

Early recordings

Among the band’s first recorded songs are “New Beat”, “Speak EZ”, “Snow Angels” and “Catapilah”. “New Beat” and “Speak EZ” use harmony-driven song structures, “Snow Angels” includes a melodic chorus and guitar solo, and “Catapilah” is marked by energetic guitar, subtle keyboard textures and a vocal breakdown that builds to a large chorus.

Background

Young Buffalo appears in 2010 as a newly formed band that has only been playing together for a few months. The group’s early performances and demos present a compact sound shaped by the individual ideas of its members.