Band brings fun
By Rebecca Brown
Daily Forty-Niner
It would be no wonder if Deadheads were
drawn to Donna the Buffalo.
This upstate New York band is just the
right mellow combination of slightly politically charged lyrics and a repetitively
mesmerizing rhythm that Jerry Garcia worshipers can relate to.
In its latest album, "Rockin' in the Weary
Land," this six-member group is all about fusion. The variety of music
styles is mind boggling.
This Sugar Hill-labeled band mixes a little
bit of folk, jazz, bluegrass, rock 'n' roll and twangy country. Because
of the plethora of styles the band uses, putting its music into a specific
classification is next to impossible.
Lead female vocalist Tara Nevinís rich
and upbeat voice is reminiscent of Natalie Merchant, but with her own original
down-home flavor. Nevin also plays the fiddle, acoustic guitar, accordion
and percussions.
The band's use of a polka-like introduction
in many of its songs may lead the listener to think the band is not serious,
but listen a little longer and be pleasantly surprised. The folksy beats
are almost infectious.
But while the beats are fun, the sound
is hard to take seriously because the band uses nonrespectable instruments
such as the tambourine, fiddle and accordion.
Listeners also get the impression that
the band belongs at a country hoedown. And although the bandís rhythm and
lyrics are fun and a good listen, they tend to go on with its songs a little
too long.
The last song, "Let Love Move Me," gets
a little agonizing, despite its punchy beginning because it is close to
11 minutes long. |
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