Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams is one of my all time favourite singer-songwriters. His delicate voice extends from minimalist and raspy to high and clean and even onwards to rock yelling. His songs have strong roots in Americana folk and country, but the general sound is much more modern. I don't know if any other artist has been as productive in the 2000's and there is not a single bad album there (maybe just not as good ones).
Ben Folds
Also Ben Folds is one of the artists I just really love. His fantastic high vocals, witty lyrics, amazing piano-playing and excellent banter on gigs makes him very loveable. His songs have made me laugh and cry in many times of my life. All of his solo records are amazing! This is what singer-songwriter music is at its best.
James Taylor
I haven't really listened to James Taylor as much as I probably should've. I really like his voice and his guitar-playing is also top notch. Some of his songs are a bit cheesy, but I guess that is at least partially due to a different sound in the folk music in the early 70's. Taylor is one of the classics in singer-songwriter folk and he has, no doubt, influenced many of my own idols.
Hiss Golden Messenger
This band is a classy venture into classic Americana with fantastic baritone vocals and attitude to convince anyone. There sound has influences from Neil Young style combination of folk and rock music. The songs are melodic and are rolling beautifully.
Jonathan Wilson
I got familiar with Jonathan Wilson after he released his latest album, Fanfare, and I was really impressed. His songs vary from folk to country and from rock to psychedelia and everything is done beautifully in an original way. He might just become much more dear to me with time.
Jkutchma & the Five Fifths
This oddly named group plays quite odd music. Nevertheless, it's great. Raspy and broken male baritone expresses grief and anger in a beautiful way in songs that draw influences from rock and blues. The bass-laden sounds have excellent raunchy organ riffs and heavy drumming.
The Butchies
The Butchies' music has quite heavy sounds, but in no means is it metal. There are traces of grunge, punk and post-rock and the female vocals are clear as the sky on a crispy winter day. There's a lo-fi feel to these songs, but not too much.
Mount Moriah
Mount Moria plays slow and eerie indie rock with overdriven guitars and dark melodies. The high-pitched female vocals fly beautifully above simple bass-strong sounds. There are some slight influences from blues singing and blues guitars.
Naked Gods
This band sounds immediately familiar. These kinds of authentic guitars and uptempo beats have been heard in many indie rock bands in the 00's. There are some distant influences from African rhythm music and the main focus is in the sounds and rhythms rather than melodies.
Farewell
I don't usually like so called 'college-rock' that much, but when it's done well, it can be quite enjoyable. Farewell conjures up great melodies that are played with overdriven and sharp guitars. The choruses make you jump up and down.
Wood Ear
Wood Ear is one of those indie rock bands that have quite clearly been influenced by the garage sound of the Strokes. Their music isn't copying The Strokes sound, but there are similar kinds of lo-fi elements in their rock sound. The bass is played with a pick to make it flap.
Zack Mexico
Zack Mexico makes classy and original indie rock. The sounds may take the main stage from excellent songwriting, but still the songs are quite interesting and there's emotion in the big guitar walls and post-rock-like jamming.
The Rosebuds
This band sounds bait like a more calm version of The National. Their music is not as dark and not as haunting, but they still have that same magical sound that is made up by baritone male vocals and neatly produced indie rock backgrounds.
Jackson Scott
This artist is a part of the new hipster generation where music tires to find new and weird sounds by combining retro sounds from different genres. There's some surf rock, some indie rock, and some indescribable retro vocals in this music.
Red Collar
Red Collar's instrumentation sounds fairly ordinary indie rock, but the raunchy and raspy vocals give it some edge compared to most of those kinds of bands. Their sound is mainly made with fast drumming and overdriven indie guitars.
Some Army
At first this band sounds quite a lot like Coldplay, but I'm saying this in a good way. The band isn't actually playing like them, but the lead singer sounds a bit like Chris Martin. The music is calm and classy indie rock with clear sounds mixing with beautiful metal string guitars.
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
I know I already mentioned Ryan Adams in this list before, but I also want to bring up his music with The Cardinals, since their sound is a bit different. The Cardinals are a fantastic country band with steel-guitars and excellent Americana sound. Adams may sometimes be better solo, but I also like The Cardinals albums quite a lot.
Megafaun
Megafaun is an indie folk band resembling Bon Iver. Their music, however, is not as whiny, but the high male vocals and folk tunes make that connection easily. Megafaun's music has its origins in Americana folk. Banjos and vocal harmonies are an inseparable part of their music.
Jon Shain
Jon Shain is a classic folk/blues storyteller in the style of Tom Waits or Neil Young. His bluesy folk makes it easy to focus on the lyrics, while at the same time the instruments are played beautifully. Some of the album covers are absolutely beautiful.
Emmylou Harris
One of the country and folk music legends. Emmylou Harris' vibrato vocals are beautiful and skilful. The best songs from her are usually written by someone else, but it doesn't really matter, because her interpretations are very good and original all the same.
Nina Simone
Nina Simone is one of the biggest names of all times in blues. Her astonishing low vocals carry a lot of intensity and emotion and she performs beautiful songs usually with melancholic tones. Most of the songs she performs have also been performed by a number of other artists, but rarely has anyone made better versions of those songs.
Seth Walker
Seth Walker is a master of minimalist blues-rock. His songs keep the listener in suspense. The songs sound like they would explode any minute, but the beauty of those songs is in the classy minimalism and excellent guitar work that's not overdone.
Bowerbirds
This band is a classic case of indie folk. There are similarities at least to bands like Wilco. The melodies are catchy, yet innovative. Acoustic guitars, bass, piano and xylophone sound great together and the subtle vocal harmonies give nice spice to the concoction.
The Avett Brothers
The Avett Brothers make quite ordinary folk music, but their songs have excellent and catchy melodies. Hopeful and desperate melodies mix together to give that air of melancholia while still maintaining the hope.
Lost in the Trees
Beautiful and innovative folk-pop with endearing sounds. The vocals are beautifully fragile and the acoustic guitars are accompanied with glockenspiels and weird tapping sounds. This music carries the air of nature, even when the string and brass instruments kick in.
Matrimony
Matrimony is an excellent band playing great indie folk. There are similarities in instrumentation to the great Mumford & Sons, but the vocals are clear female ones. There are great vocal harmonies and rising melody patterns in the songs.
Bombadil
Like the Lord of the Rings-based name suggests, this band draws its sounds from the nature. Beautiful acoustic sounds, excellent vocal harmonies and warm string arrangements. Bombadil isn't trying to be anything big and as such they manage to make genuinely beautiful music.
Delta Rae
Delta Rae makes great folk songs, but there's a slight resemblance in her vocals to American Idol types of singers that puts me off a bit. Still, her songs are not too cheesy to enjoy. There are beautiful piano and guitar licks and fantastic vocal harmonies added to the mix.
Steep Canyon Rangers
This folk band makes absolutely beautiful music. The example song Call the Captain in the playlist brings an immediate smile on my face. The baritone vocals, beautiful folk fiddle and banjo picking are done absolutely perfectly.
Doc Watson
Doc Watson is a legendary folk singer, whose guitar picking is top notch. His songs are traditional Americana folk and his baritone vocals interpret those songs beautifully. This is for all you folk guitarists out there who want to hear how you're supposed to play that metal string acoustic.
Mandolin Orange
Like the name suggests, this band uses an array of different string instruments from guitar, to mandolin and violin. The raspy baritone vocals interpret beautiful folk songs telling stories with excellent harmonies.
Carolina Chocolate Drops
This fantastic country/folk/blues band sounds absolutely fantastic. The lead female vocals have that soul tune and the songs have fantastic banjos, violins and even scratching to make it sound more modern. It's a fantastic mix of old an new sounds.
Back Porch Orchestra
This is classic country music, but it manages to be touching instead of cheesy. Their music really touches me with their familiar sounding Americana melodies. Absolutely fantastic mandolin, banjo, steel guitar and of course acoustic guitar playing.
Acoustic Syndicate
As the name suggests, there are a bunch of acoustic instruments in this band. Fast acoustic guitars, banjo, picked violin and flute make it occasionally sound a lot like Andrew Bird, although the vocals are more traditional.
The "5" Royales
This old traditional R&B band makes fantastic and soulful songs played by beautiful sounding 50's instruments. Everything sounds authentic. Guitars and trumpets sound perfect. The song on the playlist sounds like it could've been used in a Tarantino-film.
Toubab Krewe
This artist's music is highly original. It mixes Malian rhythm music with American southern state influences and the result sounds like no-one else. There are traditional Malian instruments but also Americana instruments in the songs that are all about the rhythm and interesting sounds.
Diali Cissokho and Kaira Ba
Weirdly enough, Toubab Krewe is not the only artist making West African music in North Carolina. This group uses West African funk, rock blues and jazz to come up with fantastic sounds. They also use kora, which is usually used in West African music.
Harry Deal & the Galaxies
As a bass player I have an irresistible crush on 70's type of funk music. This is one of the bands that make classy psychedelia funk with wild bass lines and wahwah-filled guitars. The sounds are amazing!
Ben Folds Five
Like with Ryan Adams, I also want to bring up Ben Folds' band in addition to his solo career. I think his band is not as good as he himself, but there are some great moments in Ben Folds Five. It's faster and jazzier than his solo career. Excellent lyrics, skilful playing and above all else, fantastic piano-playing.
Dark Water Rising
This band makes soulful indie pop-rock with dark melodies. The fantastic female vocals remind me of many soul singers, but the background is filled with clear guitars and progressive drumming. This kind of mixing of genres may sometimes go horribly wrong, but this time I think it's a success.
House of Fools
Beautiful and haunting piano led songs with dark melodies. Almost all the vocals are sung in astonishing harmonies and the vocals alone would sound amazing. That's why it's a good thing that the background instrumentation is not overdone.
Flagship
Echoey indie rock with bouncy and danceable songs. The vocals have just the right amount of off-key quality and the songs have explosive power while still maintaining classy sounds. Flagship is an apparent child of the 00's indie rock and they're doing it well.
Telescreen
Telescreen plays melancholic indie rock with quite low-fi guitars and vocals with a weird accent. The quiet electronic folk songs explode into full-on rock blasts from time to time. Impeccably classy music with excellent noises.
Stephaniesǐd
This great indie pop band plays classy songs with marching band drums and clear guitars. There are also some brass instruments in there. As with many of the hipster bands today, I don't thick this music would work well with just acoustic instruments, so the main focus falls on the sounds.
Floating Action
Floating Action plays progressive indie rock in the footsteps of Radiohead and TV and the Radio. I know my two examples don't immediately sound like the same, but Floating Action definitely sounds like both of them.
The Business People
This indie rock band uses progressive disco beats to make up rhythmic songs. Clear electric guitars are there just for the sake of sound, the melodies are carried simply by the vocals and the main stage is reserved for fantastic drumming.
Sylvan Esso
This is what the music sounds like today. The sounds are weird and filled with odd noises. This music could be described as electro, but by no-means is this danceable EDM. This is rather some kind of weird and calm hangout-lounge music.
No comments:
Post a Comment