Indie Roots Roundup: Lost Lander, Native Sibling, Agoldensummer
For me, indie roots music has been a bit dry recently. Maybe I miss those old “freak folk” days when Joanna Newsom and Alela Diane were making such pretty acoustic roots music, but these days every other indie roots band seems to want to channel the 70s California folk rock sound. Which is fine, don’t get me wrong, it just ain’t my thing. There are plenty of other reviewers writing about these Fleet-Foxes apostles, so I’m gonna sit back and go after the more acoustic-oriented bands hitting the indie-wavosphere these days. Here are some of my new favorites!
Lost Lander. Drrt.
2012. self-released.
This is the kind of album I always have trouble reviewing. Because really I just like it a lot. Portland ensemble Lost Lander have great songs, and more importantly great song construction. Their music is catchy and at times lightly informed by acoustic folk and country blues. It’s the kind of music that I like humming and singing along too. But to get more specific about why I like it is tricky. I think the key here is that Lost Lander bring together two important elements: great songwriting from Matt Sheehy, a respected Portland singer-songwriter, and a band made up of awesome Portland sidemen and women. Lost Lander the band bring a whole slew of instruments and complex arrangements to the table, bringing a level of intellectualism to the pop-wash of the songs. It’s a great combination, and I’ve found myself totally intrigued by the music of Lost Lander. And the lead songwriter too. Matt Sheehy is a forester for his day job. I thought that meant lumberjack, since this is Portland, OR we’re talking about, but forester is a much cooler job. He’s a scientist of the forest, studying trees and humping across the wilderness to understand the forest, but a forester is also a rough job spent close to the company of any number of forest crazies in the Oregon wilderness. In medieval times, according to Wikipedia, a forester was also the sheriff of the forest, stopping illegal poaching and organizing armed gangs to hunt down escaped criminals. I imagine nowadays Sheehy has to watch out for pot-growing mafias and survivalists, so it’s still a roughneck job for a scientist. My point here is that the music of Matt Sheehy and Lost Lander carries real weight, perhaps even the weight of a dense, Northwest forest. Check them out!
More about Matt Sheehy the Forester:
BUY LOST LANDER’S DEBUT ALBUM ON BANDCAMP
The Native Sibling. The Tinderbox Sessions.
2012. self-released.
Why, oh why is The Native Sibling not one of the best known indie roots bands around? They’ve got it all: gorgeous, honey-drenched vocals, beautiful songs, lush harmonies, stripped back acoustic guitar work, and the kind of salt-air, windswept treeline atmosphere you only get from growing up in Santa Cruz. Well, for one, they should probably release an album! So far we’ve only got three tracks (that I could find), starting with this February’s stunning “Follow Trees” (available HERE for free download). Though they’re saying they have an EP coming, they followed their first single with two songs released on Bandcamp from live sessions at Tinderbox Studios in Santa Cruz. Equally stunning, the second song, “Weather Veins,” had my heart forever when it unexpectedly slipped into a totally new take on “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”. Evidently The Native Sibling really are siblings–brother and sister duo Ryan and Kaylee Williams. I’m not sure if they tour much, since I don’t think they have a website (just Facebook), but I hope they’ll drop that EP soon. This is DEFINITELY a group to watch for in the near future!
Hope for Agoldensummer. Life Inside the Body.
2012. Mazarine Records.
Hope for Agoldensummer is the kind of band I don’t want to know more about. I just want to listen to their gently floating harmonies and shimmery twangy instruments and imagine them a trio of hippie siblings from Vermont readying their house for the incoming Fall and toiling over jars of preserves from the summer harvest. Reality? They’re based out of Atlanta, GA. I didn’t want to know that. I was sure it was Vermont. I’ve actually been following this indie folk band for a while, mainly through my intense, vertiginous love of their old song “Malt Liquor” which I think I listened to about 100 times over the past couple years. Their new album, Life Inside the Body, is full of strange, half-whispered lyrics, lo-fi glockenspiels, and oodles and oodles of vocal harmonies. I always fall flat trying to write about their music because this isn’t music for critical listening, this is music for daydreaming. This is the kind of music that should accompany a late summer evening staring up at the stars and wondering if you should try and kiss the sweet lady nestled up next to you. Their new album is full of lo-fi goodies, all done up with bows and delivered with love. It’s the kind of music we could all probably use more of.
This post originally appeared on the Hearth Music Blog. Check out our website and roam through our blog and Online Listening Lounge to discover your next favorite artist! We’re dedicated to presenting today’s best Roots/Americana/World musicians.