The Folk Music Thread

Vàli - "Forlatt" (2004)

The debut album from this Norwegian instrumental folk solo act presents eight tracks that consistently exude a feeling of beauty & serenity. As with other dark folk artists, I can't help but question where the darkness is as this material never comes across as anything terribly imposing. It's far more sweet & melancholic than it is dark. The execution & production job are quite stunning though with the compositions benefiting from the involvement of just the one party who clearly knows the sound that he's going for very well.

For fans of Tenhi, Musk Ox & Neun Welten.

4/5

I just went on a Fairport Convention marathon today.  Here are my ratings:

1. Fairport Convention - fun and catchy, sounds like a lot of folk albums from that era but with the healthy spirit needed to get noticed.  82

2. What We Did on Our Holidays - This boasted the spirit I was hoping to find in a classic folk rock band that the music community loves.  It has quite a few different types of beautiful songs and some incredible shared vocals between the band members.  96

3. Unhalfbricking - This is where they go for a more straightforward and traditional folk sound, rocking their instrumentals while handing full vocal duty to Sandy Denny.  This new format doesn't have quite the same originality as before, but for a traditional-stayle folk album, this features some wonderful instrumentation and a magical feel.

4. Liege and Lief - A more traditional album.  It boasts all of the strengths of the previous album with one flaw: it's a bit more drawn out for the same length range.  92

5. Full House - Even though Denny's departure was beyond unfortunate, the band largely made up for that with some beautiful and yet surprisingly poppy tunes that don't break new ground but constantly entertain.  91.

6. Angel Delight - And this is where the scars are showing.  The group is still writing pretty enjoyable tunes in the long run, but the magic seems largely missing in the first half, and the progressive aspects don't carry melody well.  72.

Ulver - "Kveldssanger" (1996)

The second album from Norwegian atmospheric/pagan black metallers Ulver saw them taking the metal world by surprise by releasing a record that was entirely made up of traditional Norwegian folk music. It was certainly enjoyable enough stuff but it wasn't necessarily what the band's existing fanbase were looking for. Despite quite enjoying them, I have to admit that I've never been as big a fan of Ulver's metal albums as most metalheads seem to be so I wasn't all that fussed & managed to enjoy "Kveldssanger" for what it is. It would go on to become the driver for the entire dark folk movement really with artists like Tenhi, Empyrium & Vàli using this release as the catlyst for their own music. Ulver's next record "Nattens madrigal: Aatte hymne til ulven i manden" is my Ulver record of choice these days (at least of those that I've heard) & "Kveldssanger" is probably the weaker of their first three but it's still definitely worth a listen for the open-minded extreme metallers out there.

For fans of Vàli, Wardruna & Sylvaine.

3.5/5

Scott Kelly - "Spirit Bound Flesh" (2001)

I initially didn't get on with the debut solo album from the Neurosis front man when I first discovered it many years ago but its charms have slowly become more apparent to me over time & I now find myself thoroughly enjoy it. It's a seriously depressing listen which is probably why I (& most others I would imagine) struggled with it so much to begin with. You can expect a very stripped back contemporary folk sound that's largely made up of just Kelly & an acoustic guitar with very little accompaniment. You're left with his deep vocal tone & the general darkness & negativity to hold onto & it can be a tough slog if you're not in the mood for it but, thankfully, I've given "Spirit Bound Flesh" enough time to sink in now & have come to understand what it was trying to achieve. While it may not be Kelly's finest solo work, I hold it in fairly high regard these days & would recommend it to all of our folk-inclined members who share my penchant for the darker end of the genre.

For fans of Steve Von Till, Blood & Time & Mike Scheidt.

4/5

GODDAMN THEY FINALLY PUT COUNTRY FOLK ON RYM.  Man, that one makes me happy. I've been using that tag for a while but efforts to get it up in my time there didn't produce any fruit.  I'll give it a couple weeks to flesh out before I retag any albums I might've missed.  Not sure about Willi Carlisle getting the tag, but I'm on board with Gillian Welch.  And I'm really happy John Denver's getting the tag.

Yay! Now I’ll know which folk records to steer clear of. ;)

Yay! Now I’ll know which folk records to steer clear of. ;)

Staying clear of John Denver and Townes van Zandt...???

Yep... along with most country music outside of the gothic stuff, although I admittedly have a Townes cover album that I absolutely love.

Yep... along with most country music outside of the gothic stuff, although I admittedly have a Townes cover album that I absolutely love.

Does that include Johnny Cash (preparing mace)?

To be fair, Cash is responsible for influencing a lot of the gothic stuff I do enjoy so he has his moments.

Ken Pomeroy - "Cruel Joke" (2025)

Fallen in love with this 12 track record from an artist I picked up randomly on a Bandcamp recommendation.  That voice just resonates in my very soul.  Could be a purchase on vinyl once finances permit.