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Emerging just as the college rock of the 1980s metamorphosized into the alt-rock explosion of the '90s, Buffalo Tom have withstood shifts of fortune and style to become one of their generation's enduring rock bands. Over time, the Boston trio tempered the full-throttle guitar roar that got them pegged as "Dinosaur Jr. junior" upon the release of their eponymous debut in 1988, an evolution that happened quickly: Let Me Come Over, the 1992 album that broadened their audience in the U.S. and the U.K., was anchored by the aching ballad "Taillights Fade." During the '90s, Big Red Letter Day and Sleepy Eyed kept Buffalo Tom in the orbit of the alt-rock mainstream on both sides of the Atlantic. Following the 1998 release of Smitten, the band went on a hiatus that lasted nearly a decade. After the 2007 release of Three Easy Pieces, Buffalo Tom remained an active band, touring regularly and releasing such new albums as 2018's Quiet and Peace and 2024's Jump Rope every few years. The trio of guitarist/vocalist Bill Janovitz, bassist/vocalist Chris Colbourn, and drummer Tom Maginnis formed Buffalo Tom at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1986. Soon, the band became part of Boston's thriving college rock scene, leading to a friendship with J. Mascis, the guitarist for Dinosaur Jr. Mascis co-produced Buffalo Tom's self-titled 1988 debut that received a release on SST, as well as Birdbrain, which appeared on Beggars Banquet/RCA in 1990. Buffalo Tom began to broaden their sound on Let Me Come Over, the 1992 album released on Beggars Banquet/RCA. Featuring the singles "Taillights Fade," "Velvet Roof," and "Mineral," Let Me Come Over received positive critical attention in the U.K., placing on the Best of the Year lists from both Melody Maker and NME. Big Red Letter Day, the 1993 sequel, sported a bigger production, highlighted on the single "Sodajerk," which also appeared on the soundtrack to My So-Called Life. Like Let Me Come Over, Big Red Letter Day also placed on NME's end-of-the-year list. Sleepy Eyed, the group's 1995 album, featured a leaner production than its predecessor, while 1998's Smitten found the group expanding their sound with keyboards. While Buffalo Tom's pop culture presence was evident at the end of the '90s -- notably, there was a 1999 film called Tail Lights Fade featuring Breckin Meyer, Jake Busey, and Denise Richards -- the group moved into a lower gear around the 2000 release of the compilation Asides from Buffalo Tom. Buffalo Tom spent the 2000s quietly, finally returning in 2007 with an appearance at SXSW and a new full-length album on the New West label, Three Easy Pieces. Skins, the band's eighth studio album, arrived in early 2011 through their own Scrawny Records label. From this point onward, Buffalo Tom were for the most part retired, but the band periodically reunited for live shows. In 2017, after Beggars Banquet released an expanded 25th anniversary edition of Let Me Come Over, the trio reconvened for a short run of dates in the United States and Europe. Following the tour, Buffalo Tom went into the studio, returning to material they began recording in 2016. March 2018 saw the release of their ninth album, Quiet and Peace, which included ten original songs as well as a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Only Living Boy in New York." After a six-year break, Buffalo Tom returned in 2024 with Jump Rope, their self-produced tenth studio album. Just prior to its May release, Buffalo Tom performed the theme song on Extended Family, a sitcom featuring Jon Cryer, Donald Faison, and Abigail Spencer.
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