With spring finally here, it is time to put away those overplayed winter records. You need to bring in this joyous season of warm weather and excessive sweating with a new genre of music. Luckily for you, you do not need to needlessly sweat in some decrepit Leo lab any longer. Iâve got your genre for this season all picked out, polished and pretty for you.
What is that genre you might ask? Why am I holding back this great surprise? Because Iâm aural sadist, apparently.
Folk music. Iâm not talking about your backwater redneck with ninety-five percent of his or her teeth missing with a banjo strapped around his or her neck. Okay, yes, there are banjos, but by the end of this playlist, I promise you, you will be a devout banjo convert.
Sorry, Jesus, I know that whole Easter thing just happened and I know rising from the dead in three days is quite a feat, but have you even heard the banjo before?
Many songs, I know, Iâm guilty of this, you can put on in the background for the sake of background noise. You donât have to think about the pounding bass or the lyrics, it tends to be all nonsense, anyway. However, folk music doesnât allow for this. Folk music is filled with rich stories that will captivate your tired mind and take you away for at least three minutes.
Hey, itâs better than reading yet another chapter on yet another old white guy for history.
âSophieâ by Bearâs Den, off of their debut album, Without/Within.
Upfront and personal, Iâm not easing your way into the folk genre. Here is the banjo, now listen to it. Bearâs Den throws you into the middle of a love triangle you werenât even aware you were a part of. And in less than two minutes, your heart has shattered all over your dorm room. With lyrics such as, âYou can take all your love out on me, Sophieâ and a chorus that just repeats, âAnd I canât forgive myself,â you have to wonder what the hell happened.
And how can you discern that answer? Well, you put this song on repeat and cry your eyes out. Enjoy!
âYouâre A Wolfâ by Sea Wolf, off of their debut record, Leaves in the River.
All right, letâs pick it up a bit. The opening guitar is chilling, setting the stage for the rest of the song. The cello swoops in and carries you off to some dark forest where youâll be wandering as (see song title) a wolf.
Alex Brown Churchâs vocals whine and pervade your listening experience. Who is this gypsy woman? Why are her lips stained with wine?
Need I repeat myself?
âThe Story I Heardâ by Blind Pilot, off of their record, 3 Rounds And A Sound.
I spent a solid twenty minutes on whether or not I should put this track on this playlist or â3 Rounds And A Sound.â But, I figured, thereâs only so much crying you can do in one day, so I decided to spare your tear ducts.
Blind Pilot is a band that can take you away from your restrictive school desk to somewhere dark, barely lit by a dying campfire. Bob your head to the steady drum and hum along with the guitar. Blink away your folk-induced tears and dance a little bit.
âAutumn Treeâ by Milo Greene, off of their eponymous debut.
It is no secret that Milo Greene is one of my favorite bands. The concluding track, âAutumn Treeâ is one of the most haunting songs I have ever listened to. Why is your heart breaking? You donât knowâbut, damn, it feels so right.
Last month, I had the pleasure to see these guys play at The Bowery Ballroom and let me tell you, I had the most pleasant chills standing in the front. For the two-hundred and thirty seconds that this song plays, let Milo Greeneâs atmospheric vocals take you away from this dirty, urban city, if only for a moment of escapism.
âSwim Until You Canât See Landâ by Frightened Rabbit, off of their album, The Winter Of Mixed Drinks.
No, ignore the album title! This song is not only for winter! You can listen to it whenever you want! You donât have to be drinking a mixed drink either! Embrace your song-choosing freedom! Exclamation point!
If you havenât realized at this point, folk music is all about escaping for a little bit. In this case, youâre swimming real far out until you obviously canât see land. Frightened Rabbit is from Selkirk, Scotland aka one of the coolest music countries out there today. Can you deny the Scottish brogue? No, you canât. Youâll be singing along as if youâre a native Scot and no one will be able to understand you. Yay!
âHold Back The Riverâ by James Bay, off of his debut record, Chaos and the Calm.
This song perfectly embodies the albumâs title. Initially calm and relaxing, James Bay serenades you into folk bliss. But the chorus? Oh, man. He certainly doesnât hold back one bit. Feel free jump around and dance. Folk music doesnât always have to be tear-jerking, fetal-position, in-the-dark music. You can link arms with your friends (folk music tends to be a group singing effort) and shout âHold back the river / Let me look in your eyes!â on the quad. I wonât judge.
âYour Protectorâ by Fleet Foxes, off of their eponymous debut.
Look at this album cover:Â
 If this picture doesnât take you back to the much simpler, freakinâ medieval times, nothing will.
You can barely hear Robin Pecknold as âYour Protectorâ begins. But it is misleading as the song unleashes its true form almost immediately. Like a train, the song picks up when Pecknold shouts, âYou run with the devil,â providing no information, backstory, but only an accusation. Who is running the devil? Why is this person lying down to die beside the speaker?
 âFuel Upâ by Stornoway, off of their debut album, Beachcomberâs Windowsill.
What I like most about Stornoway is that their records sound like theyâre playing in the room youâre sitting in. âFuel Upâ is especially unique because it tells the story of growing up through car rides. And you cannot deny the vivid imagery the lyrics give you. âWhen that morning broke / And the sky fell down / It went black as night / And the wind blew âroundââI mean, please. Youâll never find a set of lyrics quite like this in another song. Unless the track is by Stornoway; thatâs a totally different story.
âI Donât Know What I Can Save You Fromâ by Kings of Convenience, off of their debut record, Quiet Is The New Loud.
There is simply no one else in the world, past and present, who has a voice like Eirik Glambek Bøe. Two of the most emotional Norwegian men I know (theyâre the only ones), âI Donât Know What I Can Save You Fromâ is a quiet little track that does not want you to pay close attention to itâitâs too delicate. But, the simplistic beauty in each note played on the guitar draws your mind in and suddenly youâre crying.
Again.
Personally, Iâm a fan of this song because it goes against all love song conventions. Most love songs are about a person who needs their significant other to save them. This song is brutally honest and for that, I think its lack of knowledge of what to save their significant other from, makes it ten times more romantic than any other love song to date.
âThe Gardenerâ by The Tallest Man On Earth, off of his album, Shallow Grave.
Aggressive folk about a psychotic person who is keeping another person captive and murdering people! What a positive song!
With lyrics like, âSo now heâll fertilize the roses / So I can stay the king you see / In your eyes, babe,â âThe Gardenerâ is a morbid folk love song. But, hey! At least the guitar is happyâthatâs positive, right? Go find a garden, kick off your shoes and bask in the sunlight. Put this song on loud and go dance around a flower garden.
Try not to look too cultish, all right?
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