Folk Contest Round 1 Match 8

So we've finally reached the last match of Round 1. This one features a solo artist known for releasing LPs that mixed folk, americana and alt country (although this, her latest release, really sounds more like light jazz pop to me) against a musical collective that mixes folk, psychedelic rock, bluegrass and other influences. Here's the tale of the tape:


Laura Gibson - Goners

i really don't know what constitutes a folk album, but i understand this one to be:

https://lauragibson.bandcamp.com/album/goners

Also on YouTube


vs.


Fire on Fire - The Orchard

Very accessible spin on this sort of apocalyptic folk subgenre. Think a less evil sounding Comus.

On Spotify and Google Play

Folk Contest: Round 1 Match 7 Results

This one was a barn burner. At first, it looked like The Trees Community had it in the bag. Then Strand of Oaks made a run, and took a late lead. Finally, at the last possible minute before I was going to close the voting, a vote came in for Trees Community, making the match a tie. At this point, I had to go out to ask another User to listen to both albums and cast the tie-breaking vote. He did, and we finally got a result.

Here was my vote:

The Trees Community - a group of happy Christian hippies harmonizing in the courtyard of a NYC Church in the seventies.

Strand of Oaks - more traditional dark Americana. Very lusty (and occasionally rapey) vibe throughout.

I liked both albums a lot, but at the end of the day, I'm always a sucker for the vocal harmonies. My vote goes to The Trees Community.


Anyway, our guest judge agreed with me.

Final result: The Trees Community 8 votes, Strand of Oaks 7 votes.

Winner: The Trees Community

Folk Contest Round 1 Match 7

Alright this is a funny one. I created these matchups using an online randomizer, but somehow here, we wound up with a battle of the trees. Our first enrtrant is reported to fall somewhere in the genre of psychedelic/experimental folk, while its opponent is more in the country/americana folk vein.


The Trees Community - Christ Tree

An early "freak folk" album mixing Christian liturgical music, psychedelia, and world music. This is probably the only album I could describe as simultaneously experimental harmonically (microtones in the Asian influences) and instrumentally (sitars, harps, weird percussion), yet quaintly old-fashion and homey (mainly their singing tone). The group's website states their influences "ranged from the Incredible String Band and Moody Blues to Indian Raga and Balinese Monkey Chant, from traditional American sacred folk music to Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Charles Ives, Bela Bartak and Claude Debussy."

https://youtu.be/kdeYjCq1poY


vs.


Strand of Oaks - Leave Ruin

Sadly, we weren't really given a description of this one by the User who rec'd it. But as I said, the genre tags list folk, country and americana.

https://strandofoaks.bandcamp.com/album/leave-ruin

Folk Contest: Round 1 Match 6 Results

This was another close one, and unfortunately, another round where several people didn't vote. And to make it controversial, one person tried to vote late with a vote that would thrown the round back into a tie, and didn't take it all that well when I wouldn't accept his vote. (I don't really care which way the vote goes, as long as we at least get a result. And I damned sure wasn't gonna let a late vote throw it back into a tie.)

Anyway, here was my vote:

OK, I'm ready to vote.

I found the Harrod and Funck pleasant enough, but kind of generic. The guitarist is quite good. The vocals are fine, but don't really excite me. And the songwriting seemed OK, but again, a little bland. (And the one about the guy who eats his leg is just weird.)

I liked Gordon Bok. Like I said, he sounded like a mix between Pete Seeger and Gordon Lightfoot - I really like his voice.

For me this was a pretty clear choice. My vote is for Gordon Bok.


Those who voted on time agreed. Well, half of them did, anyway. 

Final Results: Harrod and Funck 5 votes, Gordon Bok 6 votes.

Winner: Gordon Bok

Quick Cars Update

Just to let you know, I haven't forgotten about that Cars writeup I promised you all. What happened is I've backed off of it for just a little while, because I've been catching up on some of the solo albums of the various members of that band. Ric Ocasek by himself released seven studio albums, some of which were excellent, and the only member of the band who didn't have at least one studio LP was drummer David Robinson. (And just as a sneak preview, although it's an absolute bitch to get ahold of, the Greg Hawkes album Niagara Falls is amazing. If you can't find yourself a copy, you can at least listen to full thing on YouTube.)

Anyway, it might be another week or so, it might be sooner. But my Cars article is definitely still coming.

Folk Contest Round 1 Match 6

Moving right along, this 6th matchup features a '90s duo that has been likened to Simon & Garfunkel against a traditional New England folk artist who began his career in the '60s. Here's the skinny:


Harrod and Funck - Live

A 90s equivalent of Simon & Garfunkel, they each had a unique style of songwriting that blended sweetly together. This is probably my favorite folk album ever, and "Lion Song" is a perfect folk tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmGFnf1heNc&list=PLATeyS5bPJiFL-rGWUSi2b9GgJiMHgQlX (also available on Spotify)


vs.

Gordon Bok - A Tune for November

My pick is on YouTube, I saw it there. He is old school sea shanty New England type stuff pretty cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n6v45J3vGk

Folk Contest: Round 1 Match 5 Results

Unlike last week, this one was close, although I was disappointed to see that several of our usual participants didn't vote this week.

Here's what I had to say:

I'm ready to vote.

I love the guitar and songwriting on Matt Elliott. I'm less of a fan of the vocals, however. I feel like I need to cattle prod him or something to wake him up. This style of vocals would have worked on one, two or maybe even three tracks. But when it's done for the whole album, it annoys me, especially considering how good everything else is.

The Borg album is my favorite of the tournament so far, which is surprising for me for an album that is all instrumental. I just love this style of music, though, and they do it very well.

My vote is for Borg.


Some of the others found the Borg to be more generic, though, and although others agreed with me about the Matt Elliott vocals, not everyone was as bothered by his sleepy vocals as I was.

Final Results: Matt Elliott 6 votes, Borg 5 votes.

Winner: Matt Elliott

Folk Contest Round 1 Match 5

We're now halfway through the first round. The fifth matchup features a Leonard-Cohen-style singer/songwriter vs. a Swedish medieval/renaissance music ensemble. Here it is:


Matt Elliott - Farewell to All We Know

Do you believe in resurrection? You don't? Well, I did when I first heard this. This is the second coming of Leonard Cohen, I mused. He breathes throughout this album somehow. How very odd, how wonderful! It is probably not true, but damn it, he used to play a mean guitar, too. Enjoy!

https://mattelliott.bandcamp.com/album/farewell-to-all-we-know

also on spotify and YouTube


vs.


Borg - Woodland

I've choosen this album because it is just a humble and enchanting release. I don't really think most of you would like it, since it is traditional (medieval) folk music.

https://borg.bandcamp.com/album/woodland


The voting ends next Friday. As always, feel free to listen along at home.

Folk Contest: Round 1 Match 4 Results

This round wasn't even close. Here was my vote:

At first, I didn't relate to the Clara Engel album at all. I will say it grew on me, particularly that first song.

However, for me, the Clem Snide album was solid throughout. My vote goes to 2.

The rest of the group mostly agreed. Several people forgot to vote this week, but it wasn't really close enough to matter.

Final Results: Clara Engel 4 votes, Clem Snide 9 votes.

Winner: Clem Snide

April 2020 Song of the Day

For new readers, this refers to the monthly Song of the Day list on the Sputnik Music website. Each month, one user hosts the list and names a theme. Everyone then recommends songs in line with this theme, and people rate the various song recommendations. The list of April songs can be found at Sputnik Music Song of the Day - April 2020.

1. The theme for the month was "Artists whose name begins with the letter 'B'".

2. My pick for the month was "Under a Violet Moon" by Blackmore's Night. It's one of their best. Blackmore's Night - Under a Violet Moon.

3. My highest rated song of the month was an old classic, "Presence of the Lord" by Blind Faith. Blind Faith - Presence of the Lord. In general, though, my ratings were pretty low this month - 2.69. IMy average rating is usually somewhere just over or just under 3. I'm not sure if this was because I was grumpier this month due to the quarantine, or the songs were just suckier. Might have been a combination.

4. The highest rated song by the group in general was "Firefly" by Black Light Smoke. I liked that one myself. Black Light Smoke - Firefly.

5. The link for the playlist for the month, minus the one song I couldn't find on YouTube, is April 2020 Song of the Day YouTube Playlist.

Folk Contest Round 1 Match 4

Here's the fourth matchup of the first round:


Clara Engel - The Bethlehem Tapes

she has material for days & a whopping one vote on one of her albums in this database

https://claraengel.bandcamp.com/album/the-bethlehem-tapes


vs.


Clem Snide - Forever Just Beyond

Gilkyson is an American folk artist based out of Austin, Texas. Secularia, her most recent LP, contains her musical musings on spirituality vs. religion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zMWd2Jbjz8&list=OLAK5uy_mog-g6-TVTgSsfwxI6D68cHio8gQdrCxU

The album is also available on spotify.

The voting for this one ends next Friday. Feel free to listen along at home.

Folk Contest: Round 1 Match 3 Results

So here was my vote on this round.


Not surprisingly, I'm sticking with my own pick on this one. I like the Augie March album overall, especially the musical things going on in the song. I don't love the vocals, though, and the album feels a little overlong. As I said earlier, I especially liked "Men Who Follow Spring the Planet Round".

I just find Eliza's spiritual musings very pretty. And as I stated earlier, I particularly like "Solitary Singer", "Seculare" and "Instrument".

My vote is for Eliza Gilkyson.


Unfortunately for dear Eliza, not everyone concurred. This was the closest vote to date.

Final Results: Augie March 9 votes, Eliza Gilkyson 7 votes.

Winner: Augie March