Sally Seltmann: Heart That’s Pounding

No longer recording under the name New Buffalo, Australian singer-songwriter Sally Seltmann refreshes her sound on her third album, Heart That’s Pounding, perhaps trying to build on the momentum of “1234,” the Feist hit she co-wrote. Unlike New Buffalo’s stripped-down, at times downright bleak second album, Somewhere Anywhere, Heart That’s Pounding is largely upbeat, with an up-and-at-’em attitude exemplified by the shamelessly catchy “On The Borderline” and the yes-we-can exhortation “Dream About Changing.” A cynical sort might suggest that Seltmann is attempting to cash in here, dulling her edges while playing to the lucrative “don’t worry, be happy” market. But Seltmann has been plenty peppy before, and her music is no less sophisticated as it jumps from the muted Phil Spector-esque orchestrations of the opening track, “Harmony To My Heartbeat,” to the two-note minimalism of “I Tossed A Coin” and the slow-building Broadway-style showstopper “Book Song.” So yes, Seltmann ends Heart That’s Pounding with the reassuring “Dark Blue Angel,” in which she tells the title character, “I will never let you in.” Nothing wrong with a little hard-won optimism, is there