Wednesday 4 April 2012

The Folk - New Waves

It’s all in the name really. The Folk, an all-female four piece from Hertfordshire, may still be young enough to describe themselves as A-Level students but their music is not versed in the dubstep wub-wub or r ‘n’ b pop that proliferates through many teen headphones or 6th form / college common rooms. Instead The Folk name their influences as Mumford and Sons, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Foster the People, Florence and the Machine, Bellowhead and Laura Marling and certainly listening to their sweet, verging on twee, acoustic pop songs it’s possible to hear elements of all of these artists as well as the likes of early First Aid Kit, Gabrielle Aplin and Stealing Sheep.
The Folk are Lucy Holmes (lead vocals), Lauren Deakin-Davies (guitar), Sam Saward (backing vocals, ukulele and violin) and Rose Goodship (backing vocals and ukulele). Whilst the group are unlikely to be found challenging the likes of Lady Gaga or Katy Perry in the near future for chart status (although they do have a song called Disco Ball Bra which frankly is more a Perry-esque title than one Marling would use) their music has an undeniable and adorable pop sentimentality. There’s go-weak-at-the-knees-melodies, harmonies to die for and a sense that whilst it’s very early days there’s a huge amount still to come from this group.
There’s a wealth of songs on the bands Soundcloud, some of which are very raw in their recording quality, although the likes of When It Rains (recently submitted and chosen as one of the winners of Tom Robinson’s Fresh Faves on the final BBC6 Music Fresh on the Net show) is much more polished. With some more gems like that and the lovely Stay ( streaming on You Tube below) they could easily become something to really treasure.
The Folk - When It Rains



The Folk - When It Rains (MagicMann Ambient Remix)



The Folk - Stay

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