Folking it up

Listening to: Radio 1

Music post time, yay! In my last music post, I said I might explore folk music next...and then I forgot :S. I remembered again while watching Later...with Jools Holland a couple of days back. I wanted to watch it 'cos of the Gorillaz performance (which was amazing), but another performance on there just blew me away. More on that later. But can I just say, Damon Albarn is looking rather delicious. When did he morph from the wannabe-chavvy Blur frontman into a Jude Law look-alike? Sneaky bugger. The years sure have been good to him.

But..erm...yes, back to the music. When you think 'folk music', you probably think 'hippy', and all the negative connotations that come with it. And what with me being all pro-mainstream and all, you won't find me camping out in a muddy field waiting to see some avant-garde band that plays their guitars like violins and vice versa (I dunno if such a band actually exists, but I wouldn't be surprised if it does). I suppose fans would be unimpressed with my attitude, considering Cambridge is home to a rather popular folk festival, but hey ho.

That said, certain folk artists (using the term loosely, perhaps) have managed to break the mainstream scene. I'm not sure what it is - it could be good management, good contacts with BBC DJs, or plain and simple luck - but it's worked. So here's my pick. I've mentioned a few indie folk rock groups before (Noah and the Whale and Fleet Foxes), so I won't include them here.

Frank Turner - The Road

I haven't listened to much Frank Turner (his solo stuff or his stuff with the Million Dead) but I ♥ this song. As he says at the beginning of the video, he did 24 shows in 24 hours, and the video chronicles the various gigs.

I really like the bit from about 2:36 to 3:15, where it appears he's returning to his punk roots.

Mumford & Sons - The Cave

This is a new-ish band from London. Their album Sigh No More has done very well here, and they get a lot of airplay. I like all their singles so far, but my favourite has to be this one.

There's something about the chorus that just makes me want to sing along at the top of my lungs.

Laura Marling - Goodbye England (Covered in Snow)

Ah, my favourite. I first heard Laura Marling's 'New Romantic' and I was hooked. There's something very...I dunno, it's like she's baring her soul for everyone to see. That vulnerability, with that voice and those melodies...wow. I love what I've heard from the new album so far - 'Devil's Spoke' makes me want to turn up the volume and start stomping around the room, and 'Rambling Man' makes me want to sit very, very still. But the single that trumps them all is this one. It is, in a word...sublime. As far as I'm aware, there's no official video for it...but as I alluded to earlier, the live version she did on Jools Holland blew me away, so I shall post it here for you. Sit down, calm down, and enjoy.

So yeah. There we have it. I think I might look at quirky indie boy groups next...I know, what a genre! lol