The Lumineers

I also find it strange that this aesthetic is big right now. Is it just freak-folk reaching the mainstream? Too bad the bands that make it big, like these guys and Mumfords, sound more like banjo versions of U2 songs rather than the old, weird Americana of Joanna Newsom or Devendra Banhart.

yah based on the description in this thread i expected them to sound completely different than they do. then i realized i had heard the ho hey song in a drugstore a couple wks ago and at the time i thought 'oh weird i guess this is a new song, but something about the vocals sounds like a very particular strain of nineties alt'

Oh this folk-pop thing is a collegtown staple, has been for several years, even before Mumford invaded. Only a matter of time 'til some rising star of it brings their New Christy Minstrels, Peter Paul & Mary etc collection up for Uncut and/or Mojo's perusal, if they haven't already. Really liked the girl when she was playing cello on SNL. So stern, *then* so smiley--then so stern again. then...also, she's cute and I like cellos. But the yelping in "Ho Hey" was an instant pissah, way back when World Cafe previewed it.

I'm actually kind of fascinated by this aesthetic, tbh -- like how and why it's taken root so strongly right now. It goes hand in hand with all those Etsy-designed weddings held at farms.

yeh tho i don't think there's any big meaning in it such as ppl searching for perceived authenticity of a bygone era or craving a respite from feeling smothered by digital environments or what have you. think it's more just another direction to look towards for entertainment, novelty. not much different than why ppl go to medieval times or something

Yeah this whole Victorian-era throwback thing doesn't seem to have anything to do with Lost Causers or Neoconfederates or anything like that at all. Now, one could say it seems nostalgic for the time of Manifest Destiny but that is a completely different can of worms.

I guess some variation of folk-pop has long been a college staple. Though this new style seems to be crossing over a bit more than the perennial singer-songwriter, coffeehouse folk that produces occasional stars like Ani Difranco or Dar Williams, who enjoy a small but dedicated following. This new style is more anthemic, stadium-ready, band-oriented.

xxp

I guess you could blame The Decemberists but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater here...

folk-pop=quaintly poignant cuteness, not all aggressive and hairy and (sometimes) musically Downtown like Ani--see enduring success of Cracker Barrel restaurants etc. But where is our Gilbert O'Sullivan?

no, let's

xp

oh yeah, the decembrists started that whole chimneysweeper sea shanty bullshit. as far as youth trendz go old timey stuff just a cornier version of whatever else people get into.

Yeah the Decemberists were good sometimes, before this latest REM clone album, which is so popular. And I like Ani, sometimes Andrew Bird, nothing against the poppier aspect in principle either (like Gilbert O, Mamas and Papas)

Pop's always been part of the Wainwright-Roches clan's appeal too.

A friend of mine just linked to this on Facebook. Seems relevant:

http://stereogum.com/1203672/phillip-phillips-the-lumineers-and-the-mumford-ization-of-pop/top-stories/lead-story/

My gf told me her teen and tween nices listen to the Lumineers and they're playing 5,000 seat places already. These young listeners are not discovering this sound through the college sound influences and antecedents

nieces

No of course it's not collegetown only, but that's the launching pad/farm league.

Because with the overall collapse of old music biz models, shows are so important for exposure; collegetowns have venues on and off campus. schools aren't that big on booking death metal etc.

Something like the Les Miz movie seems to pertain also: miserablism padded by nerf music

Maybe the fact that as a teen I loved (and still do) The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has something to do with the fact that this latest batch of "costumed" folk-poppers doesn't really bother me a whit.

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/music/images/artists/542x305/ac8a45f8-5520-4463-9fda-f63f8844cb50.jpg

"Hey, Soul Sister" kinda feels like the unofficial beginning of this trend, that was really the only 'acoustic' song on pop radio besides Taylor Swift for a while before the Lumineers/Phillip Phillips/Ed Sheeran onslaught

I also find it strange that this aesthetic is big right now. Is it just freak-folk reaching the mainstream?
― o. nate, Tuesday, 22 January 2013 16:06 (47 minutes ago) Permalink

I used to think that the way these things worked was that a sound would become popular in the "underground" or "indie" scenes and then gradually bubble up to the surface, becoming steadily more popular, but now I have a different theory that there's kind of a death and rebirth cycle where something (like vintagey freakfolk) gets played out beyond belief, has a dormant period, and THEN explodes into the mainstream

interesting idea. i remember when the italians do it better style was big for a while, then disappeared for a few years, then reappeared in the drive soundtrack. no idea if it ever took off from there.

i kind of dismiss people as having indie goggles on if they think that the inevitable return of acoustic guitars to the pop charts every decade or so has anything to do with 'freak folk'

for me this thing ties in completely with the old timey handicraft fetish that's all over Pinterest

yeah it def feels of a piece with old timey zooey deschanel "i like to listen to vinyl while i knit my bangs" culture

Anyway, I might of mentioned this elsewhere but I'm a huge fan or I guess more "serious" stuff that is somewhat related to this recent epidemic of Mumfordsarcoma; like Joe Buck Yourself, Those Poor Bastards, Johnny Flynn, Band of Horses, Mason Jennings, Avett Brothers, etc...

What about bands that straddle this fence between earnest folk/alt-country expressions and indie/emo/pop stuff like First Aid Kit, Tallest Man on Earth, Fleet Foxes, Bowerbirds, etc?

If you hate all this kind of stuff (Edward III!) you can go ahead and not engage with this line of inquiry. TIA!

Also, in a very rare occurence: some dude OTM.

i kind of dismiss people as having indie goggles on if they think that the inevitable return of acoustic guitars to the pop charts every decade or so has anything to do with 'freak folk'

― the legend of bigger yansh (some dude), Tuesday, January 22, 2013 12:01 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It's not "acoustic guitars," it's guys in turn-of-the-century garb playing acoustic guitars. No one is accusing Jason Mraz of being descended from freak folk.

Because with the overall collapse of old music biz models, shows are so important for exposure; collegetowns have venues on and off campus. schools aren't that big on booking death metal etc.

This makes sense to me. It seems this style has been bubbling under for a while on small stages, summer festivals, busking at street fairs, etc. Over the past few years, I've seen more and more of these old-timey acoustic bands around. I guess there's something to be said for the versatility of a small-ensemble format that doesn't require amplification. The Two Man Gentleman Band were one of the forerunners, I think. I like some of these groups, like Tuba Skinny.

i kind of dismiss people as having indie goggles on if they think that the inevitable return of acoustic guitars to the pop charts every decade or so has anything to do with 'freak folk'

Fair point. Though I think these bands did help to make the neo-Appalachian aesthetic fashionable. The axis of influence probably runs more through fashion mags and photo spreads, which are usually controlled by big-city hipster taste, rather than through people actually hearing the music.

I don't hate all this kind of stuff but imo we can pack the decemberists on the same rocketship used to shoot the lumineers and mumford & w/e into space

Yeah I'm a bit like Viceroy, I dig Band of Horses and Avett Brothers...on one level that Ho Hey song is kinda catch but that then they just drag an aesthetic that I like all the way into ukeleles/mandolins/banjos and suddenly you're up to your eyeballs in vests and petticoats and pennyfarthing bicycles and I just have to draw the line

Not as offensive as Mumford by any stretch, but definitely need to be punted off the nearest pier

*catchy

yeah and even though for instance young Bobby Dylan took a chance on his major label debut by covering Charlie Patton, who was considered too rough even by some fans of vintage blues, not to mention programmers of folk-pop, he always had some cute pop appeal, with the squeaky talkin' blues etc. The Byrds certainly had radio-aimed folk pop appeal, covering Dylan, and even/especially Seeger's (and whichever Old Testament prophet's) "Turn Turn Turn", ditto Judy Collins, especially when she folded in Dylan, Donovan, Beatles, early Cohen, Mitchell, Newman etc.

that's the college in the collegiate of course, but still.

It's not "acoustic guitars," it's guys in turn-of-the-century garb playing acoustic guitars.

― space phwoar (Hurting 2)

Aside from how terrible the music is I don't see how this is any different than the impulse towards Steampunk or Victorian-era-fetishization in general. It's more than a bit ignorant -- given that it was a horrible time to live in for most everyone, but a lot of the trappings I think are arguable quite attractive -- horse drawn carriages, the clothes, moonshining, fancy beards...

I dunno tho, I've always argued that 20th century fashion is an abomination and we should still be dressing like we did 100/200 years ago. Elmo Argument has argued with me extensively about this.

xp cant imagine any folk less freaky than The Lumineers

I blame Arcade Fire for all this anthemic "Hey!" bullshit

maybe that's the part I like

My problem with Ho Hey is mostly how generic the underlying song is. Like just stick a rock beat under it instead of a corny mandolin chunk and you have a standard issue soft rock radio song, which is not to say soft-rock radio is inherently bad, I just feel like the ratio of folky schtick to actual folk influence on this song is very, very high.

maybe it's just romanticizing the past and looking to reclaim lost purity and all that garbage. there's a total antiseptic, disneyland vibe with the 19th century this style's going for. there's some pretty cool stuff from the past, but it sure as hell isn't pickling beets in a jar.

they need to bring in dr folkenstein

more slavery, less beet-pickling

Django

xp if not beet pickling, then slavery. you make a good point.

Aside from how terrible the music is I don't see how this is any different than the impulse towards Steampunk or Victorian-era-fetishization in general. It's more than a bit ignorant -- given that it was a horrible time to live in for most everyone, but a lot of the trappings I think are arguable quite attractive -- horse drawn carriages, the clothes, moonshining, fancy beards...

I think the old-time rural Appalachia fetishizing is a bit different from the Steampunk or Victorian-era fetishizing though. Steampunk is more like H.G. Wells or Jules Verne or something, with an element of sci-fi weirdness in it. Also, it's not the horse-drawn carriages, fancy beards, top hats and tails that are being fetishized. This look is a bit humbler, scruffy and worn, kind of hobo-chic. Not to get all Marxist here, but perhaps there's an element of economic consciousness manifesting itself in a generation that has not been able to catch a break. Plus these clothes are probably not hard to find in vintage thrift shops for reasonable prices.

"Vintage 90s. 1990s. Hahaha."

"Die."

hmmm... good points o. nate.

edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros have a lot to answer for imo

I pickle the hell outta some beets but this stuff makes me sick. EIII otm.

Also I like ruffles and lace up boots but this home family sweetheart safety baloney makes me retch.

there's something too cute and insincere about it

"Plus these clothes are probably not hard to find in vintage thrift shops for reasonable prices."

this certainly helps... Additionally, from a fashion point of view these guys are not exactly creating something new and interesting. The clothes in that Stereogum picture are just slightly less primped versions of outfits that have been in every J Crew catalog for 5 years.

suspenders = vintage never should have happened, imo