By: Michael Madavi
With more and more foreign folk bands popping up these days, it’s nice to see a positive American influence offshore for a change! One of the red, white, and blue’s greatest contributions to the global music scene has to be that classic bluegrass folk sound we love so much. Part gospel, part blues, folk music is about as old as recorded music itself. While Americans might have pioneered our own version of the genre, recent years have seen the rise of quality and successful folk bands from other countries. Here’s a few favorites from our catalog:
The Audreys
“Paradise City” (mp3)
from “When the Flood Comes”
(The Audreys)
UPC: 0602517778153
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These guys deserve some serious respect as they’re a two-time ARIA (the Australian Grammy Award) winner for the Best Blues and Roots Album. They began as a duo comprised of the lovely Taasha Coates (voice, piano, ukulele) and Tristan Goodall (guitars, banjo) who, after dropping out of university in Adelaide, moved to Melbourne where they played original pop songs and slowed-down versions of 1980s songs. The two soon found a love of bluegrass oriented folk music and formed the Audreys with three other members to round out their sound. The result was definitely successful as both their releases to date have received enormous critical praise and earned them their shiny, invaluable ARIAs. This feels a lot like the Cranberries!
Moriarty
“Jimmy” (mp3)
from “Gee whiz but this is a lonesome town”
(Naive)
UPC: 3298498121117
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Formed in Paris as the century turned, Moriarty saw five young musicians adopt each other and write songs like novels or short movies. The group has a sound all their own created by a voice drunk on honey, upright bass, suitcase drums, acoustic and electric guitars and a harmonica. Their sound floats between folk, country, blues and cabaret set somewhere around Dallas in the 1930′s, the Russian Taïga and Paris. An infectious melody is carried by the luminous Rosemary, supported by unsettling lyrics and oozing train-like beats. Very narrative in structure, her sweet and homegrown voice tells tales of strange occurrences and characters from a world that Moriarty creates as they see fit. Very unique and moving.
Sunparlour Players
“North” (mp3)
from “Wave North”
(Outside Music)
UPC: 623339904827
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Ok, so Canada isn’t that far off, but the group’s name is a nod not to a sun room, but in fact to the Sunparlour district of Canada - the southernmost mainland of their home country. Formed a little over three years ago, the band has two EPs and one previous full length release to their credit: 2005′s solely-independent EP release Mersea , 2006′s live EP Alive at the Tranzac and 2007′s critically acclaimed Hymns for the Happy. The now three-piece multi-instrumental band of front man Andrew Penner, and co-conspirators Dennis Van Dine and Michael “Rosie” Rosenthal have recorded their new album Wave North to imminent success. METRO really nails the album’s sound on the head, calling it “…the Arcade Fire with more banjo.” Full of epic builds and destined for enthusiastic crowds singing along, this record is a great contribution from our friendly neighbors to the north, eh.
