Genres: Late 2000’s Folk and Indie Rock, part 1
Dec 3, 2021
This post is a throwback to some of the bands that made up my playlists in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s. I listened to quite a lot of folk, pop, and indie rock at the time so naturally paid attention to new music and upcoming bands. I have too many to share with just one post, so I’m splitting it up into multiple parts. Pop will also be seperate.
First up are the Dodos, a San Fransisco-based duo: Meric Long on the guitar and vocals and Logan Kroeber on the drums. They have been active since 2005 and have been steadily putting out albums; they are all good but Time to Die has been a favorite.
Evelyn Morris, aka Pikelet, is an Australian non-binary pop artist. Their earlier works, to me, had a folk-y feeling to them so I’m including those tracks here.
The origin of their name was quite sweet. Per wikipedia: The name “Pikelet” comes from Evelyn’s mother, who used to spoil her kids with pikelets (Australian pancake) when she was a little short of money. “She always had eggs, she always had flour and powdered milk in the cupboard, so she would just throw together pikelets”, Evelyn told Mess+Noise in 2007. “It was a really big deal for me, but I found out later that it was just what she did when she had nothing else”.
Tunng are an English folk music band. Are they really folk? What is a synth doing in the thumbnail of the video below? Well … folk with samples and the occasional electronic sound to make you question if this really is folk.
Indie rock project by Dominic Cournoyer from Massachusetts with the lo-fi, homemade, “alliasing and saturation are completely intentional” vibe. The whole EP is great by the way.
OK, true folk this time from North Carolina. Bowerbirds are still active having released becalmyounglovers this year. Hymns For A Dark Horse features stripped down instrumentals, carried by interesting lyrics and singing.
I really enjoy this album by Mimicking Birds, an indie rock outfit from Portland, Oregon. Back when it was released, I listened to each track on the record countless times. The moody lyrics and violin/guitar melodies are still a pleasure.
Patrick Watson is Canadian artist whose music, while infuenced by indie rock, is difficult to pin down. Fireweed and the track below are from his 2009 Wooden Arms album. Fireweed’s lyrics and music video so elegantly discuss death and rebirth. This is a pattern for Patrick Watson, whose song writing skills continue to shine in all his projects.
