The only reason I didn't like this band when I heard them for the very first time is because I paid no attention to it at all. But for some reason, one day, I randomly played their album Forward March!, which was definitely one of the best albums released in 2007, and I thought that this was a strong, promising record from this five-piece band hailing from England.

The introductory track “Modern Folk Song” is one of the best initiations of any record I’ve ever listened to. In fact, it reminds me of Sunset Rubdown’s “Stadiums and Shrines II,” oddly enough. The songs on Forward March! are great; to name some, there’s “An Old Fashioned War,” “I Saw Evil,” and “Mozart on 33.”

Really, though, I don’t think the Strange Death of Liberal England can get any better than this

I’m gonna have to give New Buffalo, a.k.a. Sally Seltmann, a spotlight here, because I couldn’t help but think “wow” when I heard “Emotional Champ,” from her second release, Somewhere, Anywhere, on my iPod. Maybe saying her voice is incredible would be considered an overstatement to some, but she definitely has something nice going on when she’s singing. Her vocals are soft; her songs contain samples and electronica influences, and even keyboard instrumentation.

Sally Seltmann’s married to a member of The Avalanches, another electronica group, and she’s buddies with Feist, and everyone knows she co-wrote “1234” with the Canadian singer. If you can trust SongFacts.com, then apparently Sally wrote a version of “1234” while listening to Feist’s Let It Die, and thought that her version was more of a Feist song, rather than sounding like an original New Buffalo tune. I’m sure, though, that Ms. Seltmann is happy for the success that “1234” received.

About Last Night is an early EP that displays New Buffalo’s general style, but The Last Beautiful Day, which was her debut LP, gave listeners something with more substance, something more promising. “I’ve Got You and You’ve Got Me (Song of Contentment)” is probably one of my favorite songs and is The Mixtape Song. “Recovery” is an impressive introduction to your first album, I’ll have to add.

New Buffalo has supported Stars while touring her latest album, which I thought to be the best album of 2007. Although the entire album wouldn’t be mainstream radio-friendly, many of the tracks shows Sally Seltmann’s growth from her About Last Night recording sessions, to where she stands now, as a shy songwriter who has the strength and ability to write evoking, poignant material.