Donna the Buffalo

There are several things that separate Donna the Buffalo from legions of innocuous rootsy pop bands. The tag-team vocals of Jeb Puryear and, particularly, Tara Nevins are rather endearing, as is the fact that keyboardist Joe Thrift plays a Lowery organ, à la the Band's Garth Hudson, instead of the ubiquitous Hammond sound. Nevins is the band's strongest asset, as she also doubles on fiddle, accordion, guitar and washboard. As a whole, the band steps gingerly into zydeco, bluesy pop, roots rock, reggae and whatever else works best for them. Positive Friction is a healthy sampling of this band's many talents, although it likely packs considerably more punch live.