Ghost Buffalo

One would reasonably expect a band called Ghost Buffalo from the hippie-friendly confines of northern Colorado to be yet another set of trustafarian jam band freaks providing sub-Phish background music for all one's hacky sacking and noodle-dancing needs. In fact, the Denver quintet is an odd mixture of alt-country twang and doomy post-punk, as if Gillian Welch and David Rawlings had reorganized themselves as a Siouxsie and the Banshees tribute act. Siren-voiced blonde guitarist Marie Litton is the band's musical and visual focal point, strongly resembling Lone Justice-era Maria McKee in both. Litton's romantic partner, guitarist Matt Bellinger (formerly of Denver emo rockers Planes Mistaken for Stars, alongside Ghost Buffalo's original drummer Mike Ricketts) provides the doomy, gothy side of the band's personality, leavened by Josh Coyle's folky acoustic guitar. Bassist Tom Ventura anchored the band's original lineup, which formed in 2003, but by the time Ghost Buffalo's self-titled debut album was recorded in the fall of 2005, Ricketts had been replaced by new drummer Andy Thomas. Shortly after Ghost Buffalo's release, the lineup changed yet again: Coyle, Ventura, and Thomas all left the band in 2006. A new four-piece lineup found Litton and Bellinger supported by bassist James Richie and drummer Brian Polk.