Tom Lynch

Sally Seltmann, who croons and sways under the name New Buffalo, finally had her "The Last Beautiful Day" released in the United States with the help of label Arts & Crafts, and the astounding result, the seemingly effortless beauty of pop matched with Seltmann's meaty-yet-vulnerable voice, will be something to remember for years to come. The Australian, who originally wrote and recorded the record roughly two years ago, bases much of her songwriting in piecing a variety of sounds and parts together, not quite electronic, not quite straight-pop rock, but just enough of both to admirably succeed.

"I made the album at home, just on a laptop, with an mp3 player and a sampler," Seltmann says. "I spent quite a while in preproduction--just getting all of the samples together." Seltmann uses a vast number of big-band-type orchestrations as samples, taken from her collection of old records, and the quirk of it all adds a timeless quality to the record. "I grew up listening to old Marilyn Monroe-type stuff, and I really wanted that to be the underlying theme," she says. "I knew that I wanted there to be an underlying theme, where it's not only a pretty, handmade record, but I also wanted it to sound a bit childlike. My songs are quite gentle. They're intimate."

Live, Seltmann switches from solo to full band and back quite often, and that unpredictability lends itself to her "childlike" themes, a sort of songwriter with A.D.D. that doesn't quite know what she wants. "I just really love arranging," she says when asked why she doesn't stick with one method of performing live. "I try to do some of the songs differently than they are on the record."

Seltmann's husband, another Australian, is Darren Seltmann, better known as one of the players in The Avalanches. Does the musical environment at home help the songwriting process? "Sometimes it's better because my husband will work on things and I'd get inspired," she says. "But sometimes it's bad because I kind of, well, I get...I get crazy thinking about stuff."

New Buffalo plays with Ben Lee on November 4 at Double Door.

(2005-11-01)

Also by Tom Lynch

Going for broke
Canada's Broken Social Scene adds more than three new members to its roster on its latest, self-titled record, the band's third and most ambitious on Arts & Crafts
(2005-10-25)

Ghost story
Mary Roach believes in ghosts
(2005-10-25)

Tip of the Week
Author and New York Times magazine contributor John Hodgman lives in his own world
(2005-10-25)

Free Verse
What can we expect from Andrew Kenny?
(2005-10-18)

Tip of the Week
(2005-10-18)

Game Day
(2005-10-11)

Worth the Weight
(2005-10-11)

Tip of the Week
(2005-10-11)

Tip of the Week
(2005-10-04)

Tip of the Week
(2005-10-04)

Making plans
(2005-10-04)

Soundcheck
(2005-09-27)

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