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Don't Fear the Folk
Young acts are getting it right
I'm not a person who leaps to the spinner every time I'm warned of "next big thing" status. The declaration gets bandied about so mindlessly now that it's usually a barrier to my ability to enjoy new music – or anything else. Throw the word "folk" in there, and it's guaranteed I'll give a polite nod and get the hell out of the conversation.
That said, I'm grateful that a few exceptional young acts have managed to sneak under the razor wire of my jaded scrutiny: namely, California psych-folker Devendra Banhart and Brooklyn avant-folk quartet Grizzly Bear.
My introduction to Banhart came via the ol' Starbucks sneak attack. It's true, I probably shouldn't be in that corporate hellhole anyway. But I was so smitten by the sound of "Now That I Know" from Banhart's fourth album, Cripple Crow, that I made the barrista go on a 15-minute-long reconnaissance mission until she could tell me who it was. Banhart's gentle, haunting voice, earthy humor, and bare-bones production are a total throwback to the golden era of psych-folk. But there's something very knowing in there, something remarkable. Banhart's fifth album, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, is due September 25. You can check out a few tracks from it here.
Grizzly Bear, who I finally took a listen to because I was sick of being badgered to death by hipsters, will also have a new one due this November. The 10-song EP(!) entitled Friend joins their two previous full-lengthers, Horn of Plenty and Yellow House. Wilco boss Jeff Tweedy and I are in agreement (via his New York Times review of the band) that these guys looked way too pouty and cool in their press photos to bother with. We also agree that, once we heard them, we knew it was time to shut up and listen. It's really modern stuff – very dynamic and impassioned. They also make great videos. Check out this awesome one for "Knife" off of Yellow House.
That said, I'm grateful that a few exceptional young acts have managed to sneak under the razor wire of my jaded scrutiny: namely, California psych-folker Devendra Banhart and Brooklyn avant-folk quartet Grizzly Bear.
My introduction to Banhart came via the ol' Starbucks sneak attack. It's true, I probably shouldn't be in that corporate hellhole anyway. But I was so smitten by the sound of "Now That I Know" from Banhart's fourth album, Cripple Crow, that I made the barrista go on a 15-minute-long reconnaissance mission until she could tell me who it was. Banhart's gentle, haunting voice, earthy humor, and bare-bones production are a total throwback to the golden era of psych-folk. But there's something very knowing in there, something remarkable. Banhart's fifth album, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, is due September 25. You can check out a few tracks from it here.
Grizzly Bear, who I finally took a listen to because I was sick of being badgered to death by hipsters, will also have a new one due this November. The 10-song EP(!) entitled Friend joins their two previous full-lengthers, Horn of Plenty and Yellow House. Wilco boss Jeff Tweedy and I are in agreement (via his New York Times review of the band) that these guys looked way too pouty and cool in their press photos to bother with. We also agree that, once we heard them, we knew it was time to shut up and listen. It's really modern stuff – very dynamic and impassioned. They also make great videos. Check out this awesome one for "Knife" off of Yellow House.
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15:39 EDT, 04.Sep.07