We Can Be Horses, the first full-length album from Milwaukee-based Buffalo Gospel, is a stunner. Like a hit-you-between-the-eyes-and-you-didn’t-know-what-happened kind of deal.
Buffalo Gospel’s work is a fine example of modern, minimalist Americana. Vaguely melancholy, cautiously optimistic, 100% moving. The band’s spare instrumentation and careful harmonizing are used to great effect.
There’s no getting around that Americana is sad music (as my mom likes to say, folk music is sad because, well, folk are sad.) Buffalo Gospel has melancholia to spare, but they’re never cloying. Rather, they’ve taken what works well and milked it for all it’s worth.