After World War Three, and a great geological upheaval on the Earth, mankind becomes extinct, and the animals take over once more: the birds, the deer, the cows, the ants, and a creature named Loki, who rises among them, and proceeds to manipulate them with his “magic.” It’s not the stuff of a lost 1970’s Ralph Bakshi animated film, but the tale which supports the third album by Folklore, the psych/folk/rock band fronted by Elf Power guitarist Jimmy Hughes. An exceptionally gifted songwriter, Hughes writes concept albums that are reminiscent of the approach taken by the Kinks (think Arthur and Lola Versus Powerman), which shouldn’t be too big of a surprise since Folklore once performed the entirety of The Village Green Preservation Society live. The band’s latest album, in both its story and pop inclinations, also recalls Masters of the Hemisphere’s cult hit I Am Not a Freemdoom (Hughes released a MOTH live album, Last Show Ever, on his homegrown label BumbleBEAR Records many years back). This one’s quite a bit darker, though: Home Church Road follows the cyclical nature of civilizations; animals replace the human race, but quickly start upon their own path to destruction.

To discuss only the album’s story, however, would be doing a disservice to what really distinguishes Folklore’s music: killer hooks buffeted by a plethora of talented musicians (the lineup here includes 12 band members, as well as additional guest musicians), corralled into the Folklore fold – in this case, drawing from Athens and Philadelphia – and delivering upon a variety of styles, from the laid-back country of “Empty Houses,” to the mesmerizing, sitar-driven psychedelia of “The Ants,” to the raucous rock-and-roll of “The Party.”  The culmination is an album which lives up to the band’s very strong debut The Ghost of H.W. Beaverman; that one drew heavily from Hughes’ friends in the Elephant 6 collective, but the latest finds him setting upon his own path and defining Folklore’s voice with greater confidence.  Home Church Road is distinctive, but for me it’s also something of a nostalgic listen: in the late 90’s and early years of the last decade, it wouldn’t be quite so unusual to get an indie album this effortlessly ambitious from Athens, but recently these kind of records seem a little more rare and valuable. 

Have a listen to “The Party” below.  The album is completed but release details will follow, hopefully soon.

Folklore – The Party

 

Elf Power has been one of the most prolific members of the Elephant 6 collective, but after sixteen years of existence and umpteen releases, they are about to complete a new rite of passage: their first eponymous album.  Elf Power, by Elf Power, will be released September 14, 2010, on Orange Twin Records, with contributions from band members Andrew Rieger, Jimmy Hughes, Derek Almstead, Eric Harris, and Laura Carter, along with guests Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss, and John Fernandes  (The Olivia Tremor Control), as well as Heather McIntosh (Circulatory System).  The album will be dedicated to the memory of the late and great Vic Chesnutt, with whom Elf Power toured and completed a collaborative album called Dark Developments.  You can read the full press release here.

Elf Power’s guitarist Jimmy Hughes fronts Folklore, and the band is hitting the road beginning this Saturday.  Their third album, Home Church Road, is due out soon after a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise funds.  If you live in one of these towns, come out and support them!

Folklore Tour Dates

6/12/10 – Cleveland, OH @ Cranky’s w/ The Bears Of Blue River, Afternoon Naps
6/13/10 – Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s w/ The Bears Of Blue River, Poison Control Center
6/14/10 – Madison, WI @ The Project Lodge w/ The Bears Of Blue River
6/15/10 – Kalamazoo, MI @ No Fun House w/ The Bears Of Blue River
6/16/10 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop w/ The Bears Of Blue River, The Calumet Reel
6/17/10 – State College, PA @ Chronic Town
6/18/10 – New York, NY @ Pianos w/ Poison Control Center, Great Lakes
6/19/10 – Philadelphia, PA @ The M Room w/ Poison Control Center, Music For Headphones

Pitchfork has announced that Jeff Mangum will perform a “very short acoustic set” at the Chris Knox benefit concert scheduled for May 6th at NYC’s Le Poisson Rouge. Also performing at the concert: Yo La Tengo, Kyp Malone, Portastic, The Clean, Claudia Gonson of Magnetic Fields, Sharon Van Etten, John Mulaney, Robert Scott, David Kilgour and Dimmer. Tickets go on sale at Kickstarter tomorrow, March 30. (This concert follows the release of Stroke, the benefit album for the Tall Dwarfs‘ Chris Knox, which also featured a track by Jeff Mangum.) This would mark the first live performance by the Neutral Milk Hotel frontman since the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise tour of two years back, for which he performed “Engine” at the encore of multiple shows. This is very, very exciting news – although the focus should remain on the only reason this is happening in the first place: raising money for Mr. Knox’s medical bills, a good cause indeed.

Since I’ve left a gap between posts here, a bit longer than intended, let me catch you up on some other Elephant 6 news:

The long-awaited deluxe edition of Circulatory System’s Signal Morning vinyl LP is finally being shipped to those who pre-ordered back in the summer of last year. It’s worth the wait (mine arrived on Saturday): the exclusive Sides 3 and 4 of the album contain alternate remixes, with a hand-painted sleeve. If you didn’t preorder, there will likely be a few more copies available for sale after all extant orders have shipped: more info is at Cloud Recordings.

Folklore, led by Elf Power’s Jimmy Hughes, is finishing up work on their third album, Home Church Road. If you’d like to see the album get released on vinyl, a Kickstarter fund was started by Jimmy, to which you can contribute. Tour dates are below.

Folklore on Tour

03.30.10 Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
04.02.10 State College, PA @ Chronic Town w/ The Spinto Band
04.03.10 – New York, NY @ The Cake Shop w/ Blood Warrior
04.15.10 – Geneseo, NY @ SUNY Geneseo (Knight Spot)

The AV Club Decider D.C. just interviewed Beulah’s Miles Kurosky on his (really quite wonderful) new solo album The Desert of Shallow Effects.

Seamonster, the band by Robbert Bobbert artist Todd Webb, has just released a 7″ called Two Birds on Royal Rhino Flying Records/Gold Robot Records/Martyrs of Pop. You can order it here. A video for “Oh Appalachia,” one of the six tracks on the EP, can be viewed here.

Casper & the Cookies also have a new video, for “Sharp!”, a track from last year’s Modern Silence. You can watch it here.

Folklore – Upcoming Dates
08.15.09 Philadelphia, PA @ The Green Line Café w/My Teenage Stride
08.22.09 Brooklyn, NY @ Bruar Falls w/My Teenage Stride
09.27.09 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s w/Still Flyin’

Folklore will also be playing SUNY-Geneseo’s Springfest, at the afterparty at Farteen (14 Avon Rd, round 7pm Saturday night).  Tonight (May 1) Folklore will be playing an “experimental set” at 230 Fellows Ave in Syracuse, NY.

The upcoming Merge XX Festival has announced more of its lineup, with potential surprise guests as yet unannounced.  We do know that E6 acts The Music Tapes, The Ladybug Transistor, and The Essex Green will be playing.  Individual tickets–in very limited quantities–will be made available on May 13.  More info here.

Still Flyin’ and the brand new Folklore will be joining up on the East Coast next month for some shows.  (Still Flyin’ will also be hitting up a number of shows at SXSW.) Here are the dates:

Still Flyin’ & Folklore East Coast Tour Dates

04/03/09 Brooklyn, NY @ Union Hall
04/04/09 Boston, MA @ PA’s Lounge
04/05/09 New York, NY @ Cake Shop
04/06/09 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s