the modern folk music of america: November 2013

dancy is a jaunty folk pop duo from connecticut. dan plays guitar, nancy plays ukelele and they both sing. their debut album, 'stories', is a nice collection of indie folk tunes that brings in other players to feature a swinging, full band sound, but still keep dan and nancy's singing in the forefront. after all, their motto seems to be 'sing for the sake of the sing'. don't always be fooled by the generally cheery vibes though, lyrically dancy isn't afraid to go to some darker corners.

buy a limited edition (100) copy of the first run of 'stories' for $10 or a digital copy for $7 right here.

the rusty pistols - mairzy doats and sailing ships

way back in the early days of this spot i posted april & wayne's version of 'house of the rising sun'...well, half of that act, april, is back here with a new band called the rusty pistols. in 'mairzy doats' her smoky, low pitched vocals, whistling and 'mouth trumpet' skills are well suited to this jazzy old time style number, produced with guitar, banjo, and a little bit of percussion. sounds like it wouldn't be out of place in a speakeasy. 'sailing ships' is a somewhat more rousing tune, sporting a celtic tinged folk-pop feel and summer of love lyrics.

nothing to download right now, so watch some more videos here.

toby hay - guitar II (the st. harmon sessions)

welsh guitarist toby hay's new EP 'guitar II (the st. harmon sessions)' is like wandering and dozing in forests and meadows on a pretty day, where ever those forests and meadows might happen to be. classically influenced instrumental folk fingerpicking, performed with grace.

this meditative EP was recorded in a barn and these surroundings seem to have worked their pastoral energy into hay's playing. 2013 has seen a boom in music along the 'american primitve' spectrum, or at least of unaccompanied guitar music that blends folk and classical styles. 'guitar II' is as fine as any.

buy a digital copy here for 1 british pound, or buy a limited edition CD in a metal case here for 5.

dziecka - polnocna korea EP

some more sounds out of poland on MFOA today, dziecka brings harsh, chilling, deep ambient soundscapes on their brand new 'polnocna korea EP'. the first song is composed of layers of droning feedback, clicks and cracks and reverb ripples, and snatches of radio conversation from submarines.

the second tune comprises most of the albums length and is the definition of a slow build, with barely an audible sound till halfway through it. then we are hit with chunks of guitar and what might be a piano. no wonder it's tagged as 'slow punk'.

buy this monster of musique concrete here for 10 polish bucks or download a digital copy free right here.

brock and kathryn ginther - anderson's "gross-ry"

check out this whimsical musical cartoon from previous MFOA contributor brock ginther and his wife kathryn. brock does the music, kathryn does the illustration.

find more such videos here.

sleeping on ceilings - pale blue eyes (VU cover, RIP lou reed)

i'm a little late, but here at MFOA, it's safe to say we fucking love lou reed. i had been meaning to post a nice lou cover, but hadn't gotten around to it. i really like this understated, quite lofi version of 'pale blue eyes' (one of my favorite velvets songs anyway) by sleeping on ceilings/tyler mahan coe.

check out more sleeping on ceilings here.

jay woodward - letters we told

jay woodward's debut album 'letters we told' doesn't sound like a debut, and i suspect the reason is that woodward has been honing his craft on unreleased home recordings for years.

'letters we told' is a pretty, dreamy album of quiet, experimental folk music that whispers, sighs, slides and creaks along...understated finger picking, soft self harmonies, found sounds and electronic/ambient touches (drum machines!) wrap the album into a holistic package. woodward conceptualized, performed, and recorded the album himself, and it plays back with a focus that is reflective of that process. recommended.

buy it for $10 right here. check out more of jay's tunes here.

the 1957 tail-fin fiasco - the cruise control EP

steely dan/squeeze worshippers the 1957 tail-fin fiasco are back with a new EP of their unique brand of 'grown-up' rock'n'roll. i guess 'grown-up' isn't an adjective you usually want applied to your rock, but it works for the fiasco. 'the cruise control EP' is a solid effort, refining their take on tightly performed acrobatic, and wryly witty story-song rock, for adults.

buy it right here for just 2 british pounds. (if you are interested, here's where i posted about these guys before...)

chris watkins - picture perfect and viva la resistance

i posted about chris watkins of anchorage, AK earlier this year, at which point he was on a solo/singer/songwriter tip. well, he's back with a couple new songs with more of a full band sound. sonically still mining the 90's (think mid-career REM, counting crows, etc), 'picture perfect' brings a power pop/rock vibe, while 'viva la resistance' tones it down into folk rock territory, with a shimmering pedal steel part adding a nice touch.

find more of chris's music right here.

envision - easy and my girl (video)

envision, AKA taylor hodges, is a college student from grand rapids, michigan who wants you to hear his laid back, modern brand of bedroom hip-hop. production wise, envision rocks an up to the minute style, with 'whoas' and a smattering of auto-tune, reminiscent of chart climbing rappers such as drake. however, unlike drake, whose bad boy posturing rings hollow when you remember his star turn in 'degrassi: the next generation', envision's music is lyrically honest and down to earth. in the lyrics to 'easy' and 'my girl', he simply tells us about HIS life, and that's what makes them solid tunes.

i give him more props as well for the dorm room video/recording setting (honesty really is the best policy). this is the modern folk music of america, ya'll.

there's nothing but the youtube at the moment, but you can also follow him on twitter @hodgeytaylor.

tate toussaint - in the pines

tate toussaint is a london born folk singer living in california. his music is classic, american style troubadour folk, in the tradition of woody guthrie, townes van zandt and early bob dylan. toussaint is comfortable writing original tunes as well as interpreting the rich vein of american folk song, including the two apt choices on this release, 'in the pines', and 'the cuckoo' (two of my favorite traditional folk tunes).

toussaint's voices is deep and weary, spreading the fog of london over these american tunes. his guitar playing is adept, from the simple alternating bass note folk style of 'in the pines', to complex country blues picking in 'california blues #2'.

go right here to pay $5 for the digital release.

JproD - trill shit, i really mean that and a million feelings

JproD is an independent MC and producer with a solid, smooth flow and production skills that range from the streets to the charts.

i couldn't find too much information, but i believe the following two tracks are a taste of an upcoming full-length release. 'trill shit, i really mean that' reperesents the poppier, cross-over side of JproD's production style, with a mellow spacey track featuring reverbed out female vocals that flows like honey blunt smoke, more than it does bang. there is an interesting a capella breakdown in the middle of the tune featuring the hook about chicken wings (you'll see).

'a million feelings' has more of a trap sound, with rapid fire hi-hats, looped minor-key piano arpeggios, and swelling strings. JproD brings it a with a more aggressive flow on this track, but the themes are personal, continuing his mission of keeping it real.

check his soundcloud to here some more tunes.

FYH records - graveyard drug party and judy's funeral

i got a cool email the other day including some good tunes from piotr of poland's FYH records. he tipped me off to two new releases on the FYH imprint, i liked them both so i decided to do a double post.
graveyard drug party's album 'paint your teeth' is a short angry blast even at 15 songs...most songs come in under two minutes. the music is chaotic noisy post-punk grunge with a rhythmic, riff heavy sonic approach that can't quite be hidden behind the discord. thematically they are working with what i imagine to be a bit of anger, nihilism, and even some whimsy, but i'm guessing, because the lyrics are in polish.

judy's funeral (i'm noticing a pattern here) delivers some solid psychedelic shoegaze on 'down deep' (think BJM's evergreen, not so much MBV) but with a chilly goth/industrial coldness throughout the production. 'lose yourself (in a dream)', the flip side of this release, shows the other aspect of the shoegaze genre, as it is basically feedback/reverb drone piece, ending with the sounds of nature, reminiscent of kevin shield's atmospheric ramblings.

go right here to name your own price for these and many more FYH digital releases or pay a reasonable price for them on cassette.

skribe - less is more

skribe is a down to earth, no frills garage folk outfit out of maryland making solid good time tunes, for whatever good times means to you...on their website they seem to suggest drinking. a somewhat lofi approach with catchy melodies and what i imagine to be a rowdy live show. 'less is more' is their latest album.

get it for $10 right here. check out some demos and unreleased tracks here.

the parmesans - wolf eggs

san fransisco's the parmesans are hard to classify. part folk revival/old time string band, some doo-wop/50's R&B influence, part barbershop trio? whats for sure is the parmesans can play and sing, specifically in ultra tight three part harmony. their latest album, 'wolf eggs', showcases these strengths well due to the fact it is a live album, which is often the best mode for capturing string bands with strong harmonies.

i think the sort of r. crumb/'comix' style album art fits the sound of the parmesans well. name your price for this and a handful of other album over at their bandcamp.

american cave limited edition CD release

i have produced a limited, numbered run of 50 CD copies of the new modern folk album 'american cave'. CD copies are hand assembled and include the tracks from the simultaneously released 'breanne/play fair' EP. select surprise orders will include a copy of my short comic book 'faces with story'.

order one here for $5. as always you also have the option of naming your own price (starting at zero) to download it and any of my other albums right here. while i'm at it, don't forget all the free musical memories available at the MFOA download archive.

pc worship - preach under cooked b/w mellow moon

i've posted a lot about brooklyn psychedelic golems pc worship and it's because they are one of my favorite bands. 'psychedelic' is an overused term in independent rock today, but j. frye and PC worship dig down to the sick pulsing heart of this tradition.

on this latest 7", out now on sophmore lounge records, they choose to embody a folkier, more appalachian side of the psychedelic tradition that they have recently. 'preach under cooked' is an unaccompanied acoustic guitar composition in the american primitive style, recorded with the crust of a cheap peaking microphone and played with a force that causes the strings to rattle and hum against the frets. 'mellow moon' is more typical of PC's style, a droning folk dirge with an ominous backcountry vibe and otherwordly singing.

buy the 7" for $5 right here. listen to and purchase more PC worship music here.

kyle fosburgh - the season of rememberance

grasstops recording, a small, mostly american primitive style record label, has sent me a few un-earthed robbie basho recordings i ended up posting elsewhere. i'm happy to present today their release of kyle fosburgh's 'the season of rememberance', a dreamy, meditative new EP of finger plucked guitar accompanied here and there by subtle touches of production...a little slide guitar, bowed bass, and even singing are interspersed throughout the proceedings.

name your own price for the digital album right here.

sam moss - no kingdom

'no kingdom' is the haunting and beautiful new release by prolific vermont based folksinger and string player sam moss. this album of shimmering strings and high lonesome singing takes the listener off to a chilly misty meadow on the side of an appalachian mountain at sunrise. sam moss handles the instruments of folk music deftly. fiddle, banjo, guitar, and mandolin sing out all over this album. with timeless lyrics, sung in a high, tired voice, this album would sound just as at home behind the crackle of alan lomax's suitcase tape machine as it does in the relatively crisp fidelity you hear here.

you can get the digital album for $7 or a limited edition CD for $12 right here. and when i said 'prolific' earlier, i meant it...look here to listen to any of the 11 other albums, EPs and 7"s moss has released since 2008.

D.I.V. - O.D. 2 the gravesite (video)

yonkers, NY based D.I.V. (destiny in vision) is a hard working rapper and half of the duo so O.D. with his brother nuf sed. D.I.V. possesses a street-sharpened, hustle-weary flow that sounds like new york hip hop...the grit that you hear in the voices of NY rappers, whether they are rhyming about video games and comic books or selling yellow tops and blue tops. like many in the NY hip hop tradition, D.I.V.'s lyrics tell the story of triumph over struggle, in life and as a musician. musically, the production draws from mutliple styles, some of his tunes are sparser, while others, such as 'O.D. 2 the gravesite' feature the dramatic bells and machine gun hi-hats of southern "trap" style.

find out more on his website, see more videos on his youtube channel.

o grande ogro - robert garcia and metal frio

o grande ogro (rough transation: the big ogre) is an instrumental rock band from sao paulo, brazil. due to my lack of comprehension of portuguese, i don't know much else about them. google translate can be a little impressionistic. good for everyone that music can bridge this linguistic divide, so i can describe the sound. the uptempo tunes blend elements of funk, metal, prog and post punk to create a riff heavy instrumental grind, avoiding the long form drone territory that many instrumental rock bands meander in. the playing is precise and intense, with a very solid rhythm section, involving two bass guitars (it works!), forming the backbone.

find out more on their website, sample a few more tunes on their soundcloud.

brendan tiernan - storm

irish musician and songwriter brendan tiernan sent me a sparse email with the song below and little else to introduce MFOA to his talents. 'storm' is a quiet and pretty finger-plucked ballad, with a medieval-meets-eastern sound that reminds me a little bit of late 60's british folk explorers like C.O.B. and the incredible string band.

there are a few other songs on his youtube channel, 'weaver', electrified and with a bit more percussion, i liked quite a bit. there is a range of sounds expressed in tiernan's music, painting a varied picture of hushed and stately psychedelia.

i couldn't find any other links for brendan's tunes, so enjoy them on youtube for now.

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