The Last Beautiful Day | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 14 September 2004 | |||
Recorded | May – December 2003 | |||
Studio | The Lonely Studio | |||
Genre | Indie rock | |||
Length | 35:58 | |||
Label | Dot Dash, Arts & Crafts | |||
Producer | Sally Seltmann | |||
New Buffalo chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
The Age | link |
Allmusic | link |
Pitchfork Media | (6.8/10) link |
Sputnik Music | link |
The Last Beautiful Day is the debut album by New Buffalo.
After their debut EP, About Last Night, New Buffalo received interest from the record label Heavenly Recordings, who funded sessions with producer Jake Davies in Los Angeles. However, these sessions were not completed, and New Buffalo's Sally Seltmann returned home to Melbourne. [1] Instead, The Last Beautiful Day was recorded by Seltmann at the Lonely Studio, at her home in Yarraville with husband Darren Seltmann. [1]
The album was released on the Dot Dash record label on 14 September 2004, and was distributed in Australia through Inertia. [2] It was subsequently released by P-Vine Records in Japan on 6 June 2005 by Arts & Crafts Productions in Canada on 23 August 2005. [3] The album was written, performed, recorded, and produced by Sally Seltmann of New Buffalo, with the exception of backing vocals from Beth Orton on the track "Inside", and drums from Jim White on the tracks "No Party", "Inside" and "While You're Away". [4]
Reviews of The Last Beautiful Day were largely positive, focusing on Seltmann's strengths with melody, and the album's mix of indie folk and electronic sounds and sampling. Rob Mitchum of Pitchfork described the album as having "dreamy-indie qualities" and that Seltmann was a "forward-thinking indie-folkster, not one to shy away from technology." [5] Stewart Mason of Allmusic pointed out that Seltmann has a "clear voice that's a more substantial and varied instrument than many of her more wispy contemporaries; Seltmann is also a clever melodicist with a knack for plainspoken but evocative lyrics." [6] A staff writer in The Age called the album "an unqualified joy" that used "bubbling vintage keyboards, ringing guitar and understated orchestral samples to provide a rich, uncluttered foundation for wistful songs of love and intimacy". [7] A staff writer at the Sydney Morning Herald described the album as having a "sometimes surprising gentleness" and that Seltmann "brings an affecting warmth to her songs and creates her own little out-of-its-time world", but that the album "is easy to drift into and be lulled", which "can sometimes work against her, particularly towards the end of the album". [2]
All songs were recorded at The Lonely Studio from May 2003 to December 2003. All songs written, recorded and produced by New Buffalo.
Elizabeth Caroline Orton is an English musician, known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall, Red Snapper and the Chemical Brothers in the mid-1990s. Her UK/US first solo album, Trailer Park, received much critical acclaim in 1996. Orton developed a devoted audience with the release of the BRIT Award-winning album Central Reservation (1999) and the 2002 UK top 10 album, Daybreaker. Her 2006 album, Comfort of Strangers, was followed by a break during which Orton gave birth to her daughter and collaborated with the British guitarist Bert Jansch. Orton returned with Sugaring Season in 2012, which moved towards a purer acoustic sound, followed by a return to electronic music with Kidsticks, released in 2016.
William Mark Wainwright, known professionally as William Orbit, is an English musician and record producer who has sold 200 million recordings worldwide of his own work, his production and song-writing work. He is a recipient of multiple Grammy Awards, Ivor Novello Awards and other music industry awards.
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Sally Mary Seltmann, is an Australian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and Record producer. From 2000 to 2009, Seltmann used the stage name, New Buffalo. Under that name, Seltmann wrote, performed, arranged and produced her debut album, The Last Beautiful Day in September 2004. Her second album, Somewhere, Anywhere appeared in March 2007. Seltmann and Canadian singer-songwriter Feist, co-wrote the song "1234" which was featured in a 2007 iPod Nano commercial. It became a Top 10 hit on the United States Billboard Hot 100 for Feist. Seltmann is married to Darren Seltmann formerly of electronic music group, The Avalanches. In April 2010, Seltmann released her third solo album, Heart That's Pounding. Late that year, she formed an indie rock trio, Seeker Lover Keeper, with fellow Australians Sarah Blasko and Holly Throsby. They issued a self-titled album in June 2011, which peaked at number three on the ARIA Albums Chart. In 2013, Seltmann released her fourth solo album, Hey Daydreamer. In April 2018, Allen & Unwin published Sally Seltmann's debut novel Lovesome.
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