Best Young Band You're Not Listening To...

...And not without good reasoon. Phantom Buffalo, a psych-folk quartet from Portland, ME, have at least two strikes against them: They're a band from Maine, which, outside of Ray LaMontagne, hasn't produced much music of note this decade, and second, they've undergone a namechange. They used to be called The Ponys, before they found themselves playing SXSW with a band also called The Ponys from Chicago. As the Chicago Ponys have more clout in indiedom, the Maine Ponys decided to change their name to Phantom Buffalo.

In a lot of ways, Phantom Buffalo is a name more befitting their sound. Debut album Shishimumu (2002) drew comparisons to The Shins' Oh Inverted World! and showcased a surreal, psychedelic landscape populated with po-faced, furry animals and existential doom that had as much to do with Radiohead as it did with Neil Young and Belle & Sebastian. Songs like "Parasitic Wedding Vows" and "Anywhere with Oxygen" played out like sonic acolytes to some lost Wes Anderson film. All-in-all, a great debut.

Their third LP, titled Cement Postcards With Owl Colours, is streaming on their website now, have a listen.

Official Website: http://phantombuffalo.net/