Glorious celebration of the human voice from Pittsburgh six-piece.
When vocal harmonies work in music – boy do they work! And here, Buffalo Rose use the simply glorious vocal dexterity of Lucy Clabby, Margot Jezerc and Shane McLaughlin for a fantastically diverse set of songs. Over the course of eleven tracks, they encompass folk, pop, operatic and Appalachian influences amongst many other styles. Joined by Bryce Rabideau on mandolin; Malcolm Inglis on dobro; and Jason Rafalk on upright bass, the band also cover a wide range of themes.
The operatic ‘New World’ is a choice opener with some modest guitar work blending with Clabby and Jerzecs vocals and the tempo quickens to produce a lovely tune. Modern politics form the basis to ‘Machine Man’ where guitar, dobro and mandolin blend perfectly with the superb vocals. It’s glorious.
The resonant message of ‘Modern Love’ , where a sprightly tune looks at our obsession with technology and the harmonies are a perfect fit for a message of longing for physical touch. There’s a lovely Beatles feel to ‘Escape Artist’ and ‘u up’ is another poke at technology, looking at text messages and their role when we’re drunk at the end of an evening.
This is an album for fans of Nickel Creek and Lake Street Drive, but it has such a distinctive feel that all listeners who love harmonies, superb songwriting and masterful musicianship will find something to enjoy here.
