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If you have the opportunity to see them live you will be totally mistified as I was at the Rhythym and Roots Festival where I first saw them. I immediately bought Positive Friction and after listening to the album, I had to have it all.I am now a 100% devoted DTB fan and I can't get enough. I am eagerly awaiting their next album. I first heard No Place Like the Right Time two years ago on a college radio station from Hartford, CT WWUH. They are by far the best fun band out there right now in my opinion. Luckily WWUH can be heard on the internet [.]. I just had to know who this was singing this wonderful song. and I was able to get the playlist that morning.
I would love to see these guys live. what a good kick back, kinda mellow, kinda groovy music. Ilove this cd. I love her voice.
Phish was sophomoric and forgettable, ditto moe., Widespread Panic completely escaped me, etc. This one is as good as any. Try this band out on this or any other of their discs. Well, Donna the Buffalo got it right. construct interesting and poetic lyrics that actually make sense. etc.
But I've never heard a band (except for one) that had this much quality stuff to lay on the table. I first saw this band at Riverbend in Chattanooga and my cynical musical heart skipped a beat. I couldn't believe I was hearing music this original, this fun, this RIGHT. They can (imagine).
write gorgeous melodies. They can (gasp). Music I hummed again, all day long. Enjoy, and eat hearty.
What a refreshing thing. This is a great album to start with, in my opinion. Little turns of phrase that crept into my speech and thoughts. I am a wandering pilgrim of a Deadhead, and I have been so disappointed in all the vane attempts other bands have made to try to capture that musical magic that it has left me wondering if there was any music out there that would ever grab my attention again.
I couldn't believe my ears. The music is so incredibly addictive and listenable that it didn't leave my CD player for weeks after I got it. These bands would pop up on the horizon, offer lame lyrics and forgettable monotonous melodies, and I wondered if any band could get it right. I did, and I'm a serious fan now.
soundtrack.Check out DTB's website to pick up their new double live CD. In this band Tara writes the pop songs and Jeb writes the rock songs. They are both excellent songwriters and the polarity of their styles is part of what broadens the appeal of the band and also creates the tension that is at least part of what makes their live shows worth seeing.DTB beat the Coen Brothers to the punch with their re-recording of "A Man of Constant Sorrow" and Jim Miller does as good a job with the song as Norman Blake did on the O Brother, Where Art Thou. I'm going to disagree with my fellow Rochesterian and say that this is a good DTB album with which to start, if you haven't heard them before. Then you will *really* know what all the fuss is about. The title cut, "Positive Friction", is one of the best Jeb Puryear songs yet. It was recorded live in the studio, so it managed to capture the headlong-but-relaxed feel of their live shows better than any previous album. He generally comes up with at least one anthemic epic per album (e.g., "Conscious Evolution" on Rockin' in the Weary Land and "Mystic Water" on The Ones You Love) and this is the brawniest one yet.
Donna the Buffalo are like Dylan meets the Wailers via Louisiana and Appalachia. That's the truth. I don't care for most "jam" type music, but the thing that makes this music irresistable is the fact that the deep grooves and improvisational parts never lose the sense of the main tune that everything is built around. It is also an ineffable combination of so many American genres of music that fans of country, reggae, rock, any branch of American folk music, and zydeco music will all find something familiar.
With a booming bass guitar note marking the beginning of each chorus and the higher sounds of the washboard mixing with the drums, the beat of this song is as important and as recognizable as the tune itself. BUT this album does manage to translate the energy and sound of the band live into very enjoyable snapshots. "No Place Like the Right Time" mixes a rich sense of harmony with a kind of country wistfulness that contrasts nicely with Tara Nevins' other more groove-based songs on the record. As my final recommendation, I just need to say that this is also a hopeful, happy thing to listen to, even if some of the songs deal with sad or angsty subjects. "Positive Friction" is a good example of the band's really striking sense of rhythm that encorporates a tonal breadth. On this record, they manage to capture almost perfectly the wonderful, warm, homey rhythm that is really their main appeal.
All of the elements are there, and it is hard to pick out a standout song. The music is also a rich, generous celebration of rural America which, being from here and living here still, I can relate to and really like. The music is, on some level, always pretty. Now, about "Positive Friction" in particular: Donna the Buffalo is a band to hear live.
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