I'm going to be honest — I don't know much about trees. I've lived in cities for most of my life, and couldn't tell you the difference between a maple and a birch. But, from my understanding, oak trees are strong and sturdy trees, so I was expecting Carved From Oak to pack quite the punch as an overall album. Unfortunately, I simply didn't get the punch I was looking for from the Buffoons, and am left wanting more from each track that I listened to.

Let's use the piece 715-CRΣΣKS as an example to explain what I was looking for overall. The feel of the track is just incredibly rigid — parts of the verses are sung almost staccato to the point where every word is broken up per syllable. Yes, there is a bit of movement in the vocals, but there should still be some flow and direction musically that is brought into each phrase, which doesn't appear to have happened in the arrangement of the track. There also didn't seem to be any thought to dynamic adjustments at all, which is something that I would have liked to have heard, particularly through the final third of the arrangement. Love Runs Out is more legato and has better phrasing than 715-CRΣΣKS, but the lack of dynamics is still apparent in places that would naturally see a decrescendo, such as the bridge. This lack of dynamics is really seen throughout the whole album, and is something that I challenge the Buffoons to think more about in their next album — in each track, where are the natural crescendos and decrescendos? Where is each line driving towards? Without this added musicality, the whole album simply feels flat and directionless.

One of the bright spots on the album is the soloists, particularly M Jordan on Put Your Records On. Again, I want a little more color from the background vocals, but Jordan tried to provide as much color as they could with a lovely vibrato that allows their voice to simply float over the track. Max McCord adds a nice raspy texture to The Power of Love that fits the arrangement that he also wrote for the group, and is one of the more complete tracks of the album.

As for the live track that ends the release, Tribute, the decision to add the song onto the album is a bit of a puzzling one. There are several instances where there are basic tuning issues between the parts, while other moments seem to drown out a voice part or two. I think it would have been a smarter decision to record this piece in the studio along with the other tracks to provide a more consistent closer than simply throwing on a live track.

I challenge the Buffoons to take a little more care on their next album to focus more on the musicality that is present for their audience. The skill set is definitely there amongst this group, but their potential is so much higher than what they have displayed on Carved From Oak.

This album makes me incredibly nostalgic for my college days. Back before a time when everyone was trying to fit a specific mold, we were a bunch of guys singing in stairwells, with whatever songs we felt like singing. The performances at times were impromptu, but there was always an element of fun. However, because we were so focused on fun, the music suffered a little. Similar issues linger here. While Carved From Oak has some bright moments, there are also some areas that highlight the group's flaws.

The Power of Love shows exactly what this group is about. Coming straight out the gate with a Huey Lewis & the News throwback, this track is all about fun. The voices imitating the horn line are crisp and clean. This is not a track that will win any creativity awards, but it will get the audience up and rocking. Max McCord sells the solo perfectly. This is the kind of performance that the group could just walk into a random room with and start jamming. I love throwback pieces, and this scratches that itch in the back of my brain. It's intended to be fun, and it delivers.

As the album continues on, we start to see some of the issues facing the group. Most notably, the sound is incredibly devoid of dynamics. 715-CRΣΣKS highlights this. The Bon Iver track has been incredibly popular with groups, but also incredibly challenging in its simplicity. With no individual soloist, the group is forced to work together to drive the music and create the impactful moments. For the big moments, the group needs to drive towards a singular point, working together to keep the microdynamics moving to make an overall change, and let the silence be its own element of the piece. This piece feels incredibly robotic. Most notes are sung at a mezzo-forte dynamic, and only a mezzo-forte dynamic. The rests are rushed, making it feel like the group is struggling to keep up with the tempo of a ballad. As a whole, the group needs to think about individual moments — whether 4 beats or 4 measures, the sound needs direction. The group needs to figure out what that direction is and focus on execution.

The final two tracks of this album are the most interesting to me as a reviewer. These are both originals written by group members. The Ballad of Dave Davis is written by Ryan Flat and Tribute (Live) is written by alumnus Jojo Davis. Ballad tells the tale of an individual that is more myth than man across a baroque-esqe soundscape, and it's ridiculous. I found myself listening multiple times just to catch all the jokes before I even listened to the track as a whole. Tribute offers more group depth, telling a tale of friendship and love for their fellow members. These are the kinds of tracks that make college a cappella so unique some days. They highlight the group as a group of individuals not taking themselves too seriously and just enjoying the music.

Carved From Oak will likely never win any awards or put the Buffoons on the map as the next premier a cappella group. However, I don't think this album set out to do that. This album set out to take a snapshot of the group for posterity. It's the kind of release to generate a million memories and be occasionally listened to with fondness. Are there good elements to the album? Yes. Are there bad elements that could be fixed? Also yes. However, when all is said and done, I think Carved From Oak accomplishes its goal perfectly. It's fun and a great memory. Take a listen and enjoy it for what it is.

From an outsider's perspective, the CU Buffoons seem to be aiming for a jovial and even silly energy at times on Carved From Oak. At least, that's the vibe I get from opening song choices such as The Power of Love and The Ballad of Dave Davis. When they embrace this energy with a full commitment (that's a joke about a lyric in Never Gonna Give You Up), this album is at its best. These elements, however, do require a full commitment to succeed, and Carved From Oak lacks consistency on this front.

The songs The Power of Love and Never Gonna Give You Up are perfect canvases for this artistic direction, and I'll admit I had a grin on my face as each song started on my listen of the album. By the end of the songs' runtime, however, there's a feeling like there was untapped potential, something left to be said. Dynamic contrast remains safe, background vocal ranges seem hardly explored, and choices of expression made by the soloists Max McCord and Miles Gibbs, respectively, are left unmet. It leaves these tracks with an enjoyable energy, but the inkling that something is missing. interlude 1 (ripe & ruin) is not a "silly" song choice, but it's another instance where the novelty is there but I am left wanting more.

Then there are the more predictable song inclusions. It is not inherently a flaw to perform these types of songs, but the absence of novelty must be filled with excellent execution. Put Your Records On has a great solo performance by M Jordan, but the background vocals don't match that performance in color and dynamics choices and it leaves the whole thing feeling fine, but just fine. Love Runs Out has a similar problem on the choruses (especially as each chorus builds on the previous one), but the difference in energy levels is smaller and that makes the song more enjoyable overall.

The lowest points of the album are hit when the biggest potential is met with the biggest mismatch of execution. Bon Iver's original 715-CRΣΣKS is steeped in raw emotion and a feeling of deliberate "sloppiness" even underneath the autotune effect used, and it's those contrasting elements that make it what it is. The CU Buffoons sing it without that emotion, without the flexibility in the tempo, and without the intense dynamic contrast, and it makes the whole experience simply feel barren and overproduced. Tribute (Live) has the opposite problem — it should've been a great closer to the album and a sentimental ode to the group's history, and I love its intention to retain the live performance. In the end, though, I am left wondering why the track sounds like it was recorded on a phone's microphone from backstage.

On the other hand, the highest point of the album is The Ballad of Dave Davis. This is where soloist, background voices, and production all unite to commit to both the song choice and the execution. The original lyric and composition by CU Buffoon Ryan Flat are incredibly entertaining and wonderfully nonsensical. Ethan Rossi's solo and the bubbly delivery are matched perfectly by the background vocals. The whole thing feels like a show choir performing a sea shanty in the best possible way. Not only do I think this is the best track on the album, but I can see myself going back to this song on its own quite often.

As a usual aside, I need to take a moment to criticize the lack of sufficient liner notes on Carved From Oak. It is far too frequent that a collegiate a cappella group credits performing artists as the songwriters, and the same happens here. The former is not necessary to credit; the latter is, and crediting the former as the latter should not fly. This doesn't affect that album's score, but it is still important to point out.

Carved From Oak is a solid collegiate a cappella album with a mixture of zany fun and more traditional a cappella covers, with varying commitment to the execution of its ideas. The strength of the album's highlights leaves me wanting more, and it's up to the CU Buffoons to leave that untapped potential lying there, or to use it to impress further in the future.