popwreckoning

Had you told me five years ago, when I was listening primarily to Morrissey and the Killers, that in a few short years I would be going mental over London folk musicians and the music they make, I would have laughed in your face. I’m definitely not laughing now, having fallen in love first with Noah and the Whale, then Fanfarlo, and now Mumford and Sons. They’re the latest success story to come out of the London folk music scene and the band comprises four close friends (Marcus Mumford, Country Winston, Ben Lovett, and Ted Dwane), all in their early twenties, who came together thanks to a shared love of country, bluegrass, and folk. They describe themselves on their website as having “…fire in their bellies, romance in their hearts, and rapture in their masterful, melancholy voices.” I can’t think of a more appropriate description for men who have created a magnificently emotional album such as Sigh No More.

It was the first single from their debut album, “Little Lion Man,” aggressive with its driving guitar, banjo, and mandolin, that first brought the quartet fully to my attention. The chorus of “but it was not your fault but mine / and it was your heart on the line / I really fucked it up this time / didn’t I, my dear?” is more jaunty than it should be for the subject matter, but it works splendidly with the backing instrumentation. “Dust Bowl Dance” is a little slower but feels just as insistent.

However, it’s the reflective brilliance of “Winter Winds” (released as a single in the UK appropriately in early December 2009) that truly made me a Mumford fan. The beauty of this track cannot be overstated: I actually felt my heart ache upon hearing its first verse: “As the winter winds litter London with lonely hearts / oh the warmth in your eyes swept me into your arms / was it love or fear of the cold that led us through the night? / for every kiss your beauty trumped my doubt” (watch the official promo video below). Romantic? Yes. “Awake My Soul” and the closing track on the album, “After the Storm,” are equally gorgeous.

Successful folk music depends on strong vocals and equally strong musicianship, each providing support for whilst highlighting the other. Songs like “Roll Away Your Stone,” “White Blank Page,” and their current single “The Cave” showcase lead singer Marcus Mumford‘s authoritative yet poignant voice, beautifully supported by Winston, Lovett, and Dwane’s backing vocals, while also sounding more like traditional folk. The minor-keyed “Thistle and Weeds” later in the album proves the band can also excel in less poppy folk. “I Gave You All” is a wild card of the bunch, beginning as a seemingly soft, thoughtful piece before ripping hearts wide open halfway through the song.

Having been on the long-list for the BBC Sound of 2009 poll in late 2008, Mumford and Sons were just getting started on their steady rise to fame in Britain around the time I could have seen them live for the first time, had I known more about them. I might have seen them perform at Rock City in Nottingham, England, at the Dot to Dot Festival last May, had I not been interviewing Friendly Fires. I learned of my “mistake” in the most unexpected way: Friendly Fires‘s guitar tech appeared from nowhere shortly after our interview was over and announced to us all that we were fools to have missed such an amazing performance.

Thankfully, this quartet have achieved a level of success that has allowed them to tour North America, and I for one will definitely see them live when they come to my town. Need further evidence of how big they are? Despite having only been together for less than 3 years, there is already a Mumford and Sons spoof tribute band from Ireland called Sonford and Mums. What’s that they say, “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” or something like that? I think Mumford and Sons deserve all the flattery bestowed upon them for their debut effort.

Sigh No More is available now on Glassnote Records in America (the band is signed to Island Records in the UK).

Tracklisting
01. Sigh No More
02. The Cave
03. Winter Winds
04. Roll Away Your Stone
05. White Blank Page
06. I Gave You All
07. Little Lion Man
08. Thistle and Weeds
09. Awake My Soul
10. Dust Bowl Dance
11. After the Storm

Tour Dates
May 13 – Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour Rire / Montreal*
May 14 – Middle East Downstairs / Cambridge, MA*
May 16 – Fillmore at TLA / Philadelphia*
May 18 – Webster Hall / New York City*
May 20 – 9:30 Club / Washington, DC*
May 21 – Beachland Ballroom / Cleveland*
May 22 – Wexner Center / Columbus*
May 24 - Lincoln Hall / Chicago*
May 25 – Varsity Theatre / Minneapolis*
May 29 – Sasquatch Music Festival / George, WA*
May 30 – 560 Club / Vancouver*
May 31 – Aladdin Theatre / Portland*
Jun 03 – Great American Music Hall / San Francisco*
Jun 04 – Henry Fonda Theatre / Los Angeles*
Jun 07 – Rhythm Room / Phoenix*
Jun 09 – Antone’s / Austin*
Jun 10 – House of Blues / Dallas*
Jun 12 – Bonnaroo Music Festival / Manchester, TN
Jun 14 – Bluebird / Bloomington, IN
Jun 15 – Off Broadway / St. Louis
Jun 16 – Record Bar / Kansas City, KS
*with the Middle East

Mumford and Sons: website | myspace | MP3 Minute: Mumford and Sons Cover Vampire Weekend | The Middle East Announces North American Festival Dates, Spring Tour with Mumford and Sons

I’m getting just a little peeved with the Washington Post. It seems like whenever I’ve found a little-known band on my own and think going to a little club to see said band is going to be a relaxing, laid-back night, the paper finds out about the gig and proceeds to do a big write-up on the band, calling the gig a best bet for the weekend. Inevitably, whatever the gig, the venue will sell out in record time and I’m forced to stand uncomfortably squeezed in among people who’ve just heard about the band that very week because they read about it in the Post. This is exactly what happened Friday night when I went to Iota, a small club connected to a cafe in Arlington, Virginia, just over the river from Washington D.C. Thankfully, this time the band in question was London-based folk pop band Fanfarlo, so at least I didn’t have to worry about any overzealous moshers or serious drunks. And in hindsight I’m glad the gig sold out, because the band’s performance was breathtaking and so many people got to see the band’s artistry firsthand.

Fanfarlo is led by Swedish musician Simon Balthazar (guitar/clarinet), who sings lead vocals alongside with the sweet harmonies of Cathy Lucas (violin / mandolin / and a whole bunch others). They’ve been compared to the Arcade Fire, which I suppose is the lazy journalist’s easy choice for comparison because of the strong pairing of male/female vocals. Leon Beckenham (trumpet / keyboards / glockenspiel), Justin Finch (bass) and Amos Memon (drums) complete their talented line-up. They released Reservoir, their debut album, earlier this year.

If you’re wondering where their band name came from, it was taken from a novella written in 1847 by French poet Charles Baudelaire called La Fanfarlo. But should you be put off by the tres chic name, please know that they make decidedly unpretentious beautiful folk pop. They started their set at Iota with just three of their members – Balthazar, Lucas, and Memon – to play “Drowning Men.” Their slower songs like “Comets” (with the smooth-as-silk chorus of “we’ll tear it down / we’ll hold the truth / by the neck / oh, by the neck / kick in the doors / and burn the books / try to forget / try to forget“) and “I’m a Pilot” are dreamy and gorgeous played live with the unique collection of instruments being played alongside Balthazar and Lucas’s voices; the two of them are tied with the xx in my mind for the most gorgeous boy/girl paired voices heard this year.

But speeding things up on songs like the verbosely-titled “Harold T. Wilkins, or How to Wait for a Very Long Time” or the fun “Luna”, with its driving drum beats augmented by Balthazar ditching his guitars to beat on a single drum, showed that they can do much more than ballads and do so in an engaging way. Check out an acoustic version of this song they filmed in a friend’s back garden this past June.

In addition to tracks from Reservoir, we also got a sneak peek into their next release in two new songs, “Atlas” and “Waiting in the Wings.” When the band left the stage following “Luna” (the last song on their printed set list), it was unclear whether they’d return. Following audience cheers for more songs, the band came back for an encore of “Ghosts,” which was as haunting as the title suggests. While being haunted is usually a bad thing, I like to think the entire Iota audience that night were entranced by this London band and their brand of bewitching folk pop.

Three dates are left on Fanfarlo‘s North American tour before they head back to London for the holidays. Please note: the two Canadian dates (Toronto on December 15 and Montreal on December 16) on their original schedule have been canceled due to Balthazar’s passport and Canadian visa getting stolen when their van was broken into during a stop in Portland last week. The band are scheduled to go on tour again in the UK in early 2010 with another great band from the London folk scene, Mumford and Sons.

Set List:
Drowning Men
I’m a Pilot
Finish Line
Harold T. Wilkins, or How to Wait for a Very Long Time
Atlas
The Walls are Coming Down
Waiting in the Wings
Comets
Luna
//
Ghosts

Tour Dates:
Dec 14 – Majestic Cafe / Detroit*
Dec 17 – T.T. The Bear’s / Boston*
Dec 18 – Webster Hall / New York City*
* with Freelance Whales

Fanfarlo: website | myspace
Freelance Whales: myspace

The London folk scene is alive and well. And one of the newest bands of that scene, Fanfarlo, has announced their first headlining tour of North America for this November and December. Having played CMJ two weeks ago and received glowing reviews, this tour couldn’t have been timed better. The band released their debut album, Reservoir, earlier this year.

While you are waiting to see them in a town near you, check out their stripped down version of Neutral Milk Hotel‘s “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.”

Tour dates:
Nov 09 – Schubas / Chicago
Nov 11 – Triple Rock / Minneapolis
Nov 13 – Moe’s / Denver
Nov 14 – State Room / Salt Lake City
Nov 16 – Knitting Factory / Boise
Nov 17 – Crocodile Cafe / Seattle
Nov 18 – Media Club / Vancouver
Nov 19 - Doug Fir / Portland
Nov 20 – Great Basin Brewing Company / Sparks, NV
Nov 22 – Rickshaw Stop / San Francisco
Nov 23 – Echo / Los Angeles
Nov 24 – Casbah / San Diego
Nov 27 – Soho Restaurant & Music Club / Santa Barbara
Nov 29 – Club Congress / Tucson
Nov 30- Santa Fe Brewing Company / Santa Fe
Dec 02 – Independent / Austin
Dec 03 - Loft / Dallas
Dec 04 – Walter’s on Washington / Houston
Dec 06 – Bottletree / Birmingham
Dec 09 – Metro Gallery / Baltimore
Dec 10 – Johnny Brenda’s / Philadelphia
Dec 11 – Iota / Arlington, VA
Dec 12 – Brillobox / Pittsburgh
Dec 14 – Majestic Cafe / Detroit
Dec 15 – El Mocambo / Toronto
Dec 16 – Il Motore / Montreal
Dec 17 – T.T. The Bear’s / Boston
Dec 18 – Webster Hall / New York City

Fanfarlo: website | myspace