Folk Week Edition: The Dead Tongues, Moon Bros., Leyla McCalla & Kaia Kater
By Aaron Stein Jul 20, 2016 • 12:55 pm PDT
The Dead Tongues: Montana
This weekend is the Newport Folk Festival and so in a newish tradition, I’m offering up a few albums from artists who aren’t playing the festival this year, but would fit in swimmingly at the Fort, maybe in future years. First up is Ryan Gustafson, who records under the name The Dead Tongues. His newest album, Montana, came out earlier this year and is a tasty sausage of different folk elements Appalachian, groovy southern blues, bluegrass and several in-between ingredients are mixed to modern specifications with Gustafson’s voice sounding friendly and familiar and the vibe loose and dreamy. Been waiting to rec this one for a while now, glad to finally have the right moment as this is a fantastic record.
Moon Bros.: These Stars
In a similar band-as-one-man fashion, Moon Bros. is the nom de tunes of Matt Schneider who spins in the Chicago postrock world of Tortoise and the like. His newest record is These Stars and recently popped up on my radar much to my delight. Here Schneider balances between cowboy country with an easy croon and laid back style and serious-chops guitar-led instrumental music. The counterpoint provided by the two different styles works a nice old/new push/pull feeling to the record. This one just came out a week or so ago, so still searching its nooks and crannies, but definitely been digging it so far, and, give it a spin, I think you might too.
Leyla McCalla: A Day For The Hunter, A Day For The Prey
Leyla McCalla is a Haitian-American whose biography bounces her from various exotic locales such as Ghana, New Orleans and suburban New Jersey. After spending some time with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, she’s out on her own and her second solo record, A Day for the Hunter, A Day For The Hunter, A Day For The Prey is a folk-lovers dream with plenty of strings and traditional sounds and influences from near and far. Throw in some special guests like Neddy-faves Marc Ribot and Rhiannon Giddens among several others, and you’ve got yourself one heckuva album.
Kaia Kater: Nine Pin
And rounding out this excellent crop of young folksters is Kaia Kater, a Canadian musician who has spent time in Appalachian West Virginia – and it shows. Her newest album is Nine Pin and it’s an exercise in power of simplicity. While there are other musicians dotting the album with everything from trumpet to electric guitar, the strength comes from Kater: the low, deep emotion in her voice and the contrasting twang of her banjo. The songs carry an extra punch from their political message which harkens back to the folk of Guthrie and Seeger. Apparently, the album was recorded in a single day in Toronto, which explains some of the intimacy and immediacy and is also quite impressive. Enjoy the folk, friends!
