Hannah Frances Unveils Mystic, Lush Folk on ‘Keeper of the Shepherd’
Hannah Frances’ hypnotic new album Keeper of the Shepherd is a master class in sophisticated songwriting and pastoral scene-setting.
avant-folk
‘One Way Or Another’ Robin Holcomb Will Take One Back to See What’s Ahead
On One Way or Another, Vol. 1, Robin Holcomb follows American modernist classical keyboard tradition mixed with an alto voice using folk and jazz intonations.
Aldous Harding Tries to Navigate a Troublesome Limbo on ‘Warm Chris’
Despite some successes, including song-of-the-year contender “Leathery Whip”, Warm Chris mostly shows the gifted Aldous Harding trying to navigate a troublesome limbo.
Senyawa Subvert Industry Conventions on Apocalyptic ‘Alkisah’
Alkisah is DIY from top to bottom, from means of distribution to the homemade instruments Senyawa build and play.
Sally Anne Morgan Invites Us Into a Metaphorical Safe Space on ‘Thread’
With Thread, Sally Anne Morgan shows that traditional folk music is not to be smothered in revivalist praise. It's simply there as a seed with which to plant new gardens.
Bill Callahan’s ‘Gold Record’ Offers Snapshots of Moments in Time
Former Smog songsmith Bill Callahan offers sparse and dry-recorded acoustic portraits on Gold Record.
Phil Elverum Sings His Memoir on ‘Microphones in 2020’
On his first studio album under the Microphones moniker since 2003, Phil Elverum shows he has been recording the same song since he was a teenager in the mid-1990s. Microphones in 2020 might be his apex as a songwriter.
Frogbelly and Symphony’s Upended Folk on Display With “Benjamin Went Fishing” (premiere)
Mixing and matching elements of traditional (and non-traditional) folk, Frogbelly and Symphony deliver a track that defies expectations and boundaries with "Benjamin Went Fishing".
Very Good’s ‘Adulthood’ Is Another Brilliant Exercise in Experimental Quirkiness
The third album from the twisted mind of Sean Cronin shows his band, Very Good, moving in strange, oddly compelling directions.
Kuri’s “The Great Orator” Is an Exquisitely Powerful Avant-Folk Piano Ballad (premiere)
Former Oh Village frontman Scott Currie establishes a new persona as Kuri and a solo project with this gorgeously haunting new single, "The Great Orator".
Siskiyou Contemplates “Unreal Erections /// Severed Heads” (premiere)
Colin Huebert (formerly of the Great Lake Swimmers and now of Siskiyou) offers brilliant, noisy and forward-thinking song from upcoming LP, Not Somewhere.