folk posts

Jehro

Monday, July 31st, 2006 by Paul Irish

caribbean soul // folk // reggae

Nuzzle these together for me: the songwriting flavor of Jack Johnson, the character of Amadou & Miriam, and the sound of the islands with the roll of an ocean wave. The Frenchman Jehro (pronounced ZHE-ro) moved to London at 20 and was absorbed by the Jamaican and Spanish influences around his Hammersmith flat. You can expect light and acoustic arrangments alongside Jehro’s chansonnier voice delivering lyrical sensuality. As for me, I expect to see a lot more of this cat.

Island love played cool.
Jehro – Everything (track 9 on the Aurgasm Summer Soundtrack)
Jehro – Long Is The Way
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Summer Americana

Monday, July 24th, 2006 by Andrew Ladd

bluegrass // folk

I’ve never seen Cletus and the Burners live, but I feel like I have a pretty good idea of how it would go down. They’re from Ithaca, so the crowd would be equal parts aging hippies and youthful hipsters; the light in the room would be a dusty, dark brown; and the air would be lazily floating around, disturbed by a couple of asthmatic ceiling fans. Oh, and the music would be really good. (I’ve never seen Jill Sobule live, either, though I was once on the other side of a stone cellar wall from one of her shows. Her tiny voice didn’t carry, but the cheers from the audience did.)

Good ol’ fashioned music.
Cletus & The Burners – Five Dollar Rag
Jill Sobule – Lucky In Love (track 8 on the Aurgasm Summer Soundtrack)
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Tin Hat Trio

Thursday, October 13th, 2005 by Paul Irish

tango // eastern european folk // bluegrass

The group describes themselves aptly: “music for the shotgun wedding of Astor Piazzolla and Django Reinhardt with Charles Ives as the flower girl.” These three skilled musicians studied at schools including the Oberlin Conservatory, Peabody Conservatory, and the Hartt School of Music, and have worked with Phillip Glass, Bill Frisell, Tom Waits, even Mixmaster Mike and Tipsy! In essence, you’ve got learned musicians that create impressive music that’s technically meaty and simultaneously fun &#8211 mixing together elements of piano, violin, dobro, drum set, and tuba. They’ve released four discs now, my selections below are from their debut and 3rd, coming off the eclectic Ropeadope Records label.
An earthy concoction of outdoor music: tango, bluegrass, and chamber jazz.

Tin Hat Trio – Happy Hour
Tin Hat Trio – Fire Of Ada
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Laura Veirs

Tuesday, August 16th, 2005 by Paul Irish

singer songwriter //indie folk

My roommate “hates” this song. She had to leave my room because it was worsening her headache. Oddly, I would think the calm nature of this song would have the opposite effect. In fact, I’m rather taken with Miss Veirs’ songwriting ability. She’s on the impressive Nonesuch Records roster and is touring with Sufjan Stevens now. “Fire Snakes” comes off her upcoming release “Year of Meteors” and delivers a deliberate and weighted musical message with minimal, but effective, instrumentation. The first two seconds will capture you. The deep bass at 0:40 will make you want to stay a prisoner of this song. Some subtle bird-like electronic elements mingle into this song, but allow the middle cello line to force this beautiful song onto you.
‘Careful, word-conscious, narrative, neither foggy nor overwritten

Laura Veirs – Fire Snakes
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Lhasa De Sela

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2005 by Andrew Ladd

nomadic latin // world folk

I first heard Lhasa’s name spoken among the crumbling foundations of an old building in Lithuania. That was a year ago. But now, having finally heard her sing, heard those torpid words crawl from her throat, I’m right back there in that blown-out courtyard. And like last year, it’s filled with sunken faces disguised by smiles and with quiet, deferent chatter, as a woman sings atmosphere from a plastic chair on a rickety stage. The album’s called The Living Road, and it evokes just that; a series of beautifully alive places, linked by a single, winding thread.
Beth Gibbons with an accent; intense and breathy.

Lhasa – Con Toda Palabra
Lhasa – Pa’ Llegar A Tu Lado
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Trina Hamlin

Thursday, July 14th, 2005 by Paul Irish

acoustic blues // harmonica folk

Hearing a musician inhale is a guilty pleasure of mine. And then hearing that oxygen toke through a reeded harmonica, like an Ashley Judd drag on a cigarette, it’s enough to make you squint those eyes in a twisted pleasure. Trina brings her game to rocking out on harmonica and tambourine in “Down To The Hollow”. It’s a full-force blues number, but the recording makes you feel like she’s riding next to you on a roadtrip down to ‘bama.
Strong, sexy, and from the soul.

Trina Hamlin – Down To The Hollow
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The Tiny

Tuesday, June 28th, 2005 by Paul Irish

uneasy minimalist folk

The awkward emotive voice of Ellekari Larsson rattles inside your head. You question what beauty sounds like. A piano and cello creep in with slow trepidation. The song’s lyrics strive for a warm emotional intimacy, but yet the instrumentation and vocals feel almost frigid and aloof. This raw power of this gem, ‘Closer’, hit me immediately when I sampled it from Fat Planet and continues to addictively reel me in.
An intimately disorienting ballad from a trio in Stockholm.

The Tiny – Closer
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The Memory Band

Tuesday, May 24th, 2005 by Andrew Ladd

pastoral pop // instrumental ambient folk

The Memory Band’s self-titled debut made it onto my Best of 2004 list, and received raves from a Who’s Who of mainstream music journalism – Mojo, NME, Q, etc. And yet, inexplicably, they remain under-exposed and under-appreciated (if their Audioscrobbler results are anything to go by, anyway). The two tracks here are beguiling gems, but are only a shade better than the rest of the album, which is full of earthy grace and delight from start to finish. I particularly like ‘This is How We Walk on the Moon’, which is vaguely Four Tet-ish and sounds like ivy crawling up walls; but ‘Ploughshares’ is equally pleasant, a swarm of sunny glints on the ocean.
Soft but confident, a stroke of genius.

The Memory Band – This Is How We Walk On The Moon
The Memory Band – Ploughshares
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Chris Thile

Wednesday, May 11th, 2005 by Paul Irish

acoustic mandolin // progressive bluegrass

I don’t spend too much time watching CMT – probably 10 minutes total in my life. But the first time I paused on that channel was when I heard Nickel Creek – beautiful rural bluegrass instrumentation matched with resonating vocal harmonies. Chris partnered with the Watkins’ siblings (Sean & Sara) to release their impressive self-titled album. Later, as part of the one time collective, Mutual Admiration Society, he released “Laurie De’ Tullins” – a bucolic tune of soothing string plucking. Halfway through, a deep double-bass enters teasing a counter-bassline to the mandolin work on top, somehow recalling Glover Gill’s excellent Waking Life soundtrack into my memory.
Pensive plucked thoughts giving way to coy aural interplay.

Chris Thile – Laurie De’ Tullins
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California Guitar Trio

Monday, February 28th, 2005 by Paul Irish

instrumental guitar // new acoustic

I woke up really early this morning. I thought I had to be late and my boss would be calling soon to hound me. But, instead, I have an hour of me time before rolling out to work. These two songs by the California Guitar Trio are the perfect complement to this quiet morning. “The Marsh” begins as simple as could be, but soon a sonic sophistication develops — harmonies are voiced, counter-melodies balance the sound, and intricate musicianship comes off smooth as fresh linen. “Led Foot” sounds unmistakably like Blue Man Group at the beginning and takes a similar, aggressive approach to the song; be sure to catch the acoustic interplay at 2:50.
Monday morning music. First, soak in the sunshine, then get moving, mister.

California Guitar Trio – The Marsh
California Guitar Trio – Led Foot
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