Customer Reviews

Last Beautiful Day

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I like this album quite a bit. Most of the songs are catchy, although some are slow and depressing. It's like what you'd get if Bjork and Stereolab collaborated to record the sountrack to "Lost in Translation."

What first appealed to me on this CD were the vocals. They have such a clear, pure tone to them that I immediately feel drawn in. Scattered through the music are highly angelic harmonies that give each song a bright blissful sound. The band has harnessed a completely unique style of their own. They dance between the feel of an old `50s love song, with swooning horns and drawn-out piano chords, and a more modern sound with constant drums and acoustic guitar finger picking. The back and forth style results in the CD moving along in a smooth way, keeping it from getting old and resulting in lost interest. It might be too mellow for most, but it's worth a listen through.

- Robin Bacior
Synthesis.net

there is not a single word that can describe the genre or feeling of this album...

having won the album of the week on Australian radio station Triple J, and recieving 5 stars from the melbourne age newspaper this was definitely a CD to check out... amazingly i didnt have to buy this CD as a friend of mine had it so i could listen to hers..

and let me tell you.. i was.. and still am.. completely blown away by this music..

imagine.. classical rock techno alternative experimentive music made for.... urban Sydney or Melbourne Cafe's

this CD truly is amazing and .. unique! im guessing a lot of the singing is improvisation ... or if not then its a very unique and successful style... much like.. a rainy day when you have nothing better to do but hum to yourself and tap on your lap .. only with an orchestra of certain selected instruments backing you up

this CD is DEFINITELY worth a look at

I was floored by the honest vocal and the simple combinations of the instruments. The vocal is unassuming but so fairy like at the same time. She's not bjork, but whereas bjork gives me creatine shots in my vein, new buffalo treats me to warm green tea and french cookies. The feeling of listening to the album is so private yet so exciting. I would not share the listening with anybody else, because they need to buy it themselves and have their little stage frights. I think this album should be on vinyl, because the earthy record noise should enhance the experience of heaven on earth.

Though I've never met Ms. New Buffalo, I feel like we coud have a good long chat about music, seasons and relationships. This is utterly beguiling music, it's warm, intimate and makes you feel as though you've been given a privileged insight into the mind of a woman in a happy, functional relationship; always inspiring. The only reason I won't give the full 5 stars is because I believe that this is a warm up album and down the track we'll be given a new view of her life with more maturity, diversity and with the same amazing arrangements, warmth, humanity and softly-infectious voice that she's proved here. Import this at once! Especially if you're a fan of Beth Orton (who makes a backing vocal appearance), Hope Sandoval, Mum, The Concretes or The Avalanches.

Why do girls (and guys) do this? Name themselves that is, "New Buffalo" isn't really a group, but it sounds like some western Canadian band wearing fringe coats covering old Steve Stills songs. Actually Sally Seltmann is from Australia, without sounding like it at all. Someone mentioned Bjork, and it's true there is some of her songwriting influences in here, without her innovation or power. Not to be critical, but the comparison isn't fair.

What we do have is a relatively straight forward set of songs with a pretty soft female voice, the CD hangs together very well and forms a very enticing playlist. What misses for me is "Yes", which actually sounds more like her current stripped-down CD, which I like, but mostly because it led me here. I prefer the lush strings and production of something like "Inside" or "Alright" much better than her favorite family piano, which sounds kind of harsh and out of tune to me. While there isn't a great deal here to distinguish Mrs. Seltmann vocally, her song writing is very fine for the most part, and that can be everything. Some reviews point to "Recovery" as the highlight, but that sells the rest of the CD short.

I rate the CD high because it ends up being hit a fair amount when my cursor is gliding over my playlists, and that's what it's all about, right? If you keep listening to something it must be good. Pop for it, I'm sure she could use the bucks and you won't regret it. She deserves much more attention in this other former British penal colony.