When Bob Dylan first played an electric guitar in 1965 at the Newport Folk Festival he revolutionized folk music, rejecting the parameters of traditional folk and exploring other genres while still maintaining a folk identity.
For years, folk music was distinct from other genres through its binding identity and community. Forty-five years later, it has never sounded so diverse with bands breaking even further parameters to create something distinctly new in a genre dominated by an inherent sameness. While identity remains a part of folk music, artists are continuing to identify themselves with different genres that meld with folk as a way of broadening this community.
Identity within the folk community as a whole has become less significant in the modern day through these genre-bending artists, but uniqueness has replaced identity as a highly valued ideal. While the up-and-coming artists discussed below cannot be considered purely folk and may be categorized within other genres, each one has the distinct roots of a folk artist. The influence from folk music is evident, but each one is simultaneously revolutionizing the genre in their own way.
Mumford & Sons
It is clear the London -raised Mumford & Sons have seen love and heartbreak. The lessons they have learned from both the love and the pain are presented in their music bare and naked, laying out their emotions recklessly in the same way they seem to love. They have taken a style of folk that has been popularized by the Avett Brothers and given it their own sound. It is characterized by a punk-like energy and zealousness while still maintaining the ability to slow it down to a sentimental sound. They are a darker, more cynical version of the Avett Brothers without naivety in the tender subject of love.
The quintet features a variety of instruments including guitar, mandolin, banjo, dobro, organ, drums and stand up bass. Yet, their most effective instrument is their vocal arrangements. Frontman Marcus Mumford leads the rest of the band in an intricate vocal section that perfectly harmonizes at times, evoking Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young as well as the Fleet Foxes without the heavy reverb. At other times he uses a passionate vocal intensity at climactic moments that hauntingly mimics Seth Avett with a British accent.
Lyrically, Mumford and Sons show sophistication paired with emotional complexity. They love recklessly but not heedlessly, approaching the subject with deep contemplation in a poetic mindset. In “Sigh No More,” the title track off of their debut album, Mumford leads the group into a climactic fury as he sings, “Love that will not betray you, dismay or enslave you / It will set you free / Be more like the man you were made to be / There is a design, An alignment to cry, At my heart you see / The beauty of love as it was made to be.” They sing of the finer issues in the human existence and lay them out in a way that exploits the misguiding rationalization of the mind while praising the undeniable power of the heart.
The Mumford & Sons’ debut album was released in the United States on Feb. 16 and their notoriety is increasing rapidly. They will be playing the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Telluride, Colorado on June 20.
Trampled By Turtles
Often missing within the world of “new-grass,” or progressive bluegrass, is a sense of distinction from new-grass bands due to its particularly homogeneous style and sound. Trampled By Turtles achieves this missing piece by creating memorable melodies and lyrics, a rare trait that has been brought to the forefront of bluegrass music particularly through the emergence of Railroad Earth. They straddle a line between homegrown, traditional bluegrass with lengthy, rapid improvisations and artistic song writing.
A general sadness and lonesome feeling exists in many of their songs as they utilize the sentimentality of the minor keys and smooth, wining vocals. Oddly enough, their distinct sound is created by strictly traditional bluegrass instruments: banjo, guitar, bass, mandolin and fiddle. Trampled by Turtles are from Duluth, Minn., a town that birthed and saw Robert Allen Zimmerman rise to become one of the most influential songwriters and musicians under his stage name, Bob Dylan.
It seems Trampled By Turtles have taken a note or two from their hometown hero in the field of songwriting. Rarely does bluegrass-styled music come with thought-provoking lyrics, as lyrical complexity and message is generally not the intent of bluegrass artists. In one of their more catchy songs, “Empire,” they sing, “Listen to the liars / As they run the world / Holiest empires / But nothing lasts for sure.” Similar to Dylan, they tackle a variety of issues in their songs by meddling between story-based song forms and love ballads among others.
Since their formation in 2003, Trampled By Turtles have been rising to the top of the jam-grass circuit. They released their sixth studio album just last week and will be touring in support of their album. Catch Trampled By Turtles live on May 14 at the Ogden Theatre in Denver.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Davis Brown at Brownfd@colorado.edu.
