There are legions of folk artists influenced by the genre’s early roots, from Appalachian groundwork to intersections of bluegrass and jug bands. Some are committed to the influences that struck them the most growing up, passionate artists with little more than a guitar and coarse vocals, to the point where any recent production trend that dilutes the music’s “purity” is disregarded or even frowned upon. Throwback folk artists generally exist within a niche that detaches hype and promotion more than most, away from artists like Bon Iver or Sufjan Stevens that sound overly produced or desperately conceptual to this specific audience. Still, it is not practical to exclusively align preferences toward either naturalistic or updated folk; there are certainly groups that promote an over-bloated fusion of unsynchronized styles, but there are also many that rely too much on a minimalist guitar-and-voice formula. The ones deserving of attention are those that possess the same melodic spontaneity and memorable lyricism of folk’s forbearers; the degree of complexity is relevant only to those looking to enhance their credibility. For them, it’s rarely a matter of actually enjoying the music. Quality folk music, whatever its delivery, is an essential opposition to this type of listener.

For folk purists, the initial offerings from You Won’t may sound too rock-oriented and combustible for their liking. However, the Massachusetts duo are much like Girls’ Christopher Owens in the sense that their large array of influences gradually come into focus as their songs progress. “Three Car Garage” begins with a quick burst of acoustic strums, the furious pace resembling both lo-fi punk and raw surf-pop. A twangy electric guitar just before the one-minute mark doesn’t alter the current stylistic choice, but by the first chorus’ end its sudden disappearance paves a remarkably cohesive road for the duo’s undying love of folk. This is where the acoustic strums dominate again, though instead of tackling quick-edged punk like before it travels into Appalachian folk territory. For precisely one minute (01:50 to 02:50) this is apparent, providing the least intricate and chirpily infectious moment of the song – but also the most structurally memorably one. “Tell me are you not the same as me, did you pay your dues in little league? / Did you wash your hands of blood and greed and stumble back in time of me?” they sing before opening up the electric instruments and percussion again with “It’s a delusion babe!” It’s a wonderfully catchy and highly eclectic song.

You Won’t clearly have a knack for infusing traditional folk into structures and styles that are very contemporary, to say the least. You can find the two opening tracks from their debut LP, Skeptic Goodbye, below. After making music together for over a decade, the duo of Josh Arnoudse and Raky Sastri may have found their breakthrough release.

RIYL: Girls, The Tallest Man on Earth, Deer Tick, Delta Spirit, Middle Brother, Dawes, A.A. Bondy, Langhorne Slim, Phosphorescent, The Cave Slingers, Dr. Dog, Blitzen Trapper, Fruit Bats, Two Gallants, The Low Anthem

You Won’t – Three Car Garage

You Won’t – Fat and Happy

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Soft Landing remain somewhat elusive, but the members’ experiences are never in question. Frontman Paul Collins is part of the traveling circus that is Beirut. And so is Perrin Cloutier, who Collins recruited just as Soft Landing passed its preliminary stage. Mike Lawless, Collins’ friend from college, later rounded out the trio as they began recording their debut full-length in Chicago with Icy Demons’ frontman Griffin Rodriguez. The self-titled release predictably found a home with Ba Da Bing Records, the label to bands like Beirut and Shearwater. Soft Landing was released last fall but just recently found its share of press. The trio possesses the same angular approach to rock, folk, and pop that frequent collaborator Zach Condon does, but Soft Landing implement their diverse showing of styles – from tropicalia and mariachi-driven chillwave to twangy folk and rhythmically combustible pop anthems – more succinctly than Condon. The result is not as grandiose or individualized as Beirut, but with greater stylistic prowess and arguably more percussive involvement.

While Condon plays with enjoyably rigid sentiments of Balkan folk and unconventional fusions of electronica, Soft Landing is a breezier and more accessible interpretation of freak-folk, electronica, and art-rock. The world influences are not as striking – like Condon’s Balkan folk – but Soft Landing provide plenty of international flair mainly pertaining to South American and African folk/pop. “Papaya” shows this off well with the exotic woodwind-like synths and fast acoustic arpeggios. One can envision a blue-sky atmosphere, mainly on account of the handclap-percussion and vibrant guitars resembling both an Irish jig and tribal dance. Collins has a voice most comparable to The Veils’ Finn Andrews in a half-nasally half-anthemic croon that fits well, particularly for this fun track.

“Mic Check” boasts a little electro bass gargle and quick strums of a ukulele. During its build-up, Collins’ gradually raises the pitch of his voice until the falsetto signals a fury of percussion, which is mastered subtly in its panning but still unavoidable considering its incredible workmanship within the track. “Mic Check” is constant and somewhat repetitive, but the subtleties inherent in Collins’ vocal usage and percussive involvement prevent even the slightest moment of predictability. The stampede of percussion and revolving synth licks create an infectious quality rarely found in driven works like these and Soft Landing should be commended for it. They are able to manipulate a flimsy synth sound into the capabilities of a retro-friendly organ, and these bursts bring along sentiments of psychedelia and classic-rock that fit seamlessly into Soft Landing’s creative presentations of freak-folk and Balearic-influenced electronica.

A guitar arpeggio and more intensified synth-organs than before propel “Live with Birds” into yet another memorable effort. Big bass drums dominate shortly thereafter, with a poppy synth line only to designed to tease. The initial vocal introduction is complemented by only an acoustic guitar, and this bass drum/synth collaboration reveals itself as a killer hook once it appears again, now laced beautifully under Collins’ soaring vocals. XTC, David Bowie, and Deer Tick are just a few comparisons that come to mind. “Pendleton Woolen” has a type of lush delicacy that the band should pursue more. An acoustic track for the most part, a little bass shuffle enters concurrently with Collins’ voice. “All my kisses turned to ash,” he sings at one point. “I wish I could control the beats of my heart.” This is one of the more aptly emotional tracks on the album, and more developments like these should result in heavy exposure for this promising trio.

RIYL: Beirut, Au, XTC, David Bowie, Deer Tick, Rita Lee, Os Mutantes, Devendra Banhart, Fanfarlo, Andrew Bird

Soft Landing – Mic Check

Soft Landing – Pendleton Woolen

Soft Landing – Baptism

Ba Da Bing Records / BUY

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Two Gallants have not been very active since we last checked. An EP, The Scenery of Farewell, and their self-titled album were both released in 2007, and they remain the band’s latest material. This is a bit odd considering Adam Haworth Stephens and Tyson Vogel, the two longtime friends that comprise the duo, churned out three albums and two EPs from 2004 to 2007. It also remains unfortunate that, to many, the San Francisco-based indie-rockers remains best known for an incident in October 2006, where a police officer at their show tasered some band members and fans, including a 14-year-old that went into a seizure (a bit excessive?). That stole the show a bit from the duo’s music, which has always been a consistently great mixture of folk and blues. As expected from the hybrid, Two Gallants’ lyrical ability has always been astute, with topics ranging from racial segregation to political uprisings presented in an accessible and musically relevant manner. The lack of activity is also befuddling because their two most recent releases, The Scenery of Farewell and Two Gallants, were undoubtedly their best.

As it turns out, Two Gallants have actually been busy. Well, at least half of them. Stephens, the duo’s lead singer and songwriter, has crafted a noteworthy debut that reminds us of Two Gallants’ excellence, along with a higher emphasis on pop hooks, retrospective romanticism, radio-friendly allure. Stephens has a vibrant and emotive voice, complete with the nasally twang that supplies a domineering presence familiar to Two Gallants fans. The music on his debut solo release, We Live on Cliffs, is more subdued and relaxed than his previous work though, which may result in a polarizing reception among fans. The fairly simplistic “Second Mind” is not offensive in any capacity, but feels a bit forced as the album’s second entry. Its repetition wears on the listener, with the chorus lacking excitement that other efforts like “Praises in Your Name” and the vaudeville-like “The Cities That You’ve Burned” present infectiously. “Second Mind” is one of the bounciest, accessible tracks Haworth has written, but it is debatable whether or not that is a good thing. A little bit of a country twang, old-fashioned organs, and a sing-along hook make it one of the more linear efforts on We Live on Cliffs, but it is a good entry point for those familiarizing themselves with Stephens’ vocals. He has a crisp-clear delivery much like The Tallest Man on Earth’s Kristian Matsson, albeit with more of a nasally snarl and tendency for emotive variation. The storytelling allure is quite comparable between the two, though, even if Matsson’s instrumental prowess and intricacies are noticeably more involved.

The simple pluck of a guitar in “The Cities That You’ve Burned” before percussion emerges is just one of many building blocks that make it a memorable track. The blossoming from an acoustical track complemented by light keys into a full-out jam session of is indicative of both Stephens’ songwriting at its best and the talents of Grammy Award-winning producer Joe Chiccarelli. Indie-rock fans probably know him best from work with The Shins, Minus the Bear, and My Morning Jacket (Evil Urges), or from recent news that he is working on The Strokes’ upcoming fourth album. Those formidable acts are not a far cry from Stephens’ aim here, which is to produce an amiable mixture of pop and folk with as little pretension and as much accessibility possible. The lack of ambition on We Live on Cliffs is the only thing preventing him from the ranks of a My Morning Jacket or Minus the Bear. That is not to say it is entirely absent though, as we can see from Two Gallants and several key tracks on We Live on Cliffs that Stephens is certainly not incapable of producing intricately empowering material. Maybe they should pair him with a producer who takes more risks, rather than one who is technically proficient but stylistically lacking.

Another strong effort from the album that shows Stephens’ potential in a different light, “Elderwoods”, is presented with more vigor, electric guitars and organs leading the way. I would guess Stephens has admiration for the different styles of folk someone like Neil Young is able to masterfully present, as he appears discontent with straying in one vein of folk too long. On the nine tracks here, there a four subdued folk ballads (“Southern Lights” being the best), three electric-oriented like “Elderwoods” that show some fierceness and intensity, and two that stray somewhere in the middle. The highlights on We Live on Cliffs provide plenty of reason to follow Stephens, as this solo debut is one that displays his potential in an enjoyably accessible light. While the Young comparison comes strictly on the basis of attempts at stylistic variation within folk, it is evident that he has the right influences in mind and capacity of talent to go quite far.

RIYL: Two Gallants, Deer Tick, Tallest Man on Earth, The Good Life, Neva Dinova, The Felice Brothers, Okkervil River, Langhorne Slim, Bright Eyes, Son Ambulance, A.A. Bondy, Desaparecidos, Cursive, Port O’Brien, Murder by Death, Ghost Mice, Andrew Jackson Jihad

Adam Haworth Stephens – The Cities That You’ve Burned

Adam Haworth Stephens – Elderwoods

Adam Haworth Stephens – Praises in Your Name

Official Site

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For the thousands of indie-rock cuts recorded in a home studio, the desperate insertion of ambiguity is a common plague. As DIY techniques continue to grow more popular in both rock and hip-hop, some artists are keen on lowering their standards in an effort to make their image that much more captivating. In most instances, it serves as a substitute for genuine artistic expression, an essential aspect in DIY that is often absent. Spirit Night, with their debut release What We Will Be, powerslam such artists into their ground. Clearly on a budget with little in terms of recording technology, the West Virginia-based project formed by songwriter Dylan Balliett packs more punch than many studio-centric groups. While far from flawless in their occasionally clumsy interweaving of keys and guitars, Spirit Night’s songwriting and abundance of hooks provide a personable atmosphere in which the songs grow from their enchanting melodies and interesting structural transitions, not from some pseudo-image that attempts to sound vintage by recording a few basic chords in a reverb-friendly bathroom.

In Balliett’s description of What We Will Be, one can easily see it as a representation of moving on. Several songs speak to this sentiment, and even Balliett in his own words seems to point this out. The album was recorded in Morgantown, West Virginia, a place that contributed immensely to the album in its own right. “I wouldn’t say the album tells a clear story,” he explained. “But for me, I definitely see it as a kind of fractured autobiography of my life in that town. I moved right after I finished it.” As for the recording process, it was mainly a DIY affair with help from several friends like percussionist Pete Wilmoth. “I recorded it myself on borrowed equipment in various bedrooms and bathrooms around town, and I basically played everything other than the drums.” Despite it not abiding by the conventional narrative, several listens should provide quite a bit of auto-biographical depth. While not precisely a concept album, there are certainly thematic consistencies that are lyrically prevalent on What We Will Be. It helps that all the album’s lyrics are viewable here.

Although the album boasts a variety of styles, Spirit Night can certainly show the acoustical charm of a Jonathan Richman or Robyn Hitchcock, with songs like “Stage Lights” and “Brains” showing Balliett’s brisk howl and narrative allure over a wonderful collection of guitars and bell-based percussion. The acoustical progression in the superior “Stage Lights” even resembles an Irish folk song at some points, while the reverb-drenched electric guitar that drones on afterward brings the listener to different territory, as most songs on What We Will Be do. There is little account for radio-friendly imitation here, as Balliett is not the type of songwriter who abides by straightforward sentiments, even if his music is very personable. “I’m sorry that I broke your heart, I wasn’t meant to hold it,” he sings. “It is fragile and I dropped it on that day; the pieces filed the room with that resounding static boom, and they are cutting through my shoes as I am trying to walk away.” Lines like these are spoken with confidence and aptness, which makes its narrative importance that much more alluring.  Balliett’s straining voice never getting to the point of grating even if is unlikely to be Spirit Night’s drawing point. Their songwriting, lyrical insight, and lack of pretentiousness is what should earn Spirit Night a generous following.

The sing-along bit, “Bear Costume”, resembles the likes of Deer Tick with its jangly interpretation of folk, while the cheap-y synths incorporate themselves with a likeness to Black Kids or The Virgins. It avoids the clutter though and sounds entirely modern without the vagueness that lo-fi production often encourages. “The Medicine” is particular impressive for Balliett, as it is perhaps the best showing of his dual-vocal harmonizing. Like most aspects of Spirit Night, it is not perfect, but I’ll damned if the potential is not oozing from my speakers. From songs like these, it is easy to tell that Spirit Night is certainly one to keep an eye on. What We Will Be can be downloaded for free here, so there is no excuse not to check it out. A few clips are included below for convenience, but this album is complete enough to demand a full listen. In the midst of the incompetent and desperate peers in Spirit Night’s genre, Balliett should be congratulated.

RIYL: Deer Tick, The Tallest Man on Earth, Jonathan Richman, Robyn Hitchcock, Girls, The National, Beat Happening, Green Day, Frightened Rabbit, The Felice Brothers, Phosphorescent, Bowerbirds, Blitzen Trapper, M. Ward, Peter and the Wolf, Great Lake Swimmers

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Spirit Night – The Medicine

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Spirit Night – Stage Lights

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Spirit Night – Green Street

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Download: What We Will Do

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