Buffalo Tom - Birdbrain | 90s Rock Revisited

Buffalo Tom was a band that found us. Through a dorm room stereo, a mixtape passed along, or a late-night college radio stumble. They weren’t a fixture on MTV or plastered across magazine covers. But their music had a way of landing right when you needed it.

And if you came in around Let Me Come Over or Big Red Letter Day, chances are you missed the rougher edges they were still sanding off just a few years earlier. That’s where Birdbrain lives. In that fuzzy in-between. That glorious pre-breakthrough mess.

Finding a Voice in the Static

Released in 1990 on Beggars Banquet, Birdbrain is Buffalo Tom’s second album, and it wears that number like a badge. It is the sound of a band in transition. Looser, louder, and far less polished than what came next, but no less compelling.

“It’s rough around the edges. It’s dangerous. These songs sound a little chaotic, like they’re falling off the rails at any moment.”

From the layered guitar blasts to Bill Janovitz’s not-yet-settled vocals, sometimes snarling, sometimes slurred, it’s a record that wrestles with its own direction. You can hear echoes of early Dinosaur Jr. (J Mascis even plays on the title track under the pseudonym Monty Rose), but you also catch glimpses of the more melodic, emotionally rich band they were becoming.

Songs like “Crawl” and “Enemy” feel like practice runs for the more mature songwriting to come. “Fortune Teller” and “Baby,” the latter sung by bassist Chris Colbourn, offer real hooks and tighter structures, forecasting the band’s evolution. There’s energy, there’s exploration, and there’s a sense that anything could happen—sometimes for better, sometimes for worse.

Caught Between Chaos and Charm

At times, Birdbrain struggles to hold itself together. The vocals waver in pitch and tone. The rhythm section isn’t always up to the task when the guitars drop out. The mastering is wildly inconsistent. Volume dips. Brittle tones crackle through certain tracks.

And yet, there’s magic here. The Psychedelic Furs cover “Heaven” is a moment of surprising clarity and poise, hinting at the path ahead while still soaked in the album’s lo-fi charm.

“In an alternate universe, you could imagine that working and being really popular, at least on college radio.”

This was never meant to be the album that launched them into MTV rotation. It was a college radio record, built in scraps and studio bursts, made by a band still half-jammed in the van and half-dreaming of something bigger. That spirit is baked into the record. Not in spite of the imperfections, but because of them.

You can hear it in the way the drums teeter on chaos. The way Janovitz reaches—sometimes awkwardly, sometimes brilliantly—for a sound that hasn’t quite locked in. And in the way the band explores tempo and mood without losing sight of that raw, jangled emotional core.

The Sound Before the Signature

In hindsight, Birdbrain offers something more than just early Buffalo Tom. It offers context. It offers discovery. This is the sound of a band trying ideas on like jackets in a thrift store. Some are a little too big, others just right, and a few tear at the seams. But in every fit, there’s a glimpse of the confident stride that was coming.

"There are parts of these songs that are cringy, and then there are others I really enjoy."

These songs might not be the ones you put on a Best of Buffalo Tom mixtape for a friend. But if you’ve ever obsessed over Let Me Come Over or Sleepy Eyed, you owe it to yourself to see what came before.

Because Birdbrain isn’t just the prelude. It’s the flicker before the flame. The soft punch that made you realize this band might just be something special.

So what’s the verdict? Well, you’ll have to listen to find out.

Songs in this Episode

• Intro - Fortune Teller

• 17:23 - Birdbrain

• 23:07 - Crawl

• 26:26 - Heaven

• 29:40 - Skeleton Key

• Outro - Guy Who Is Me

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