Folk
Noah’s Barks pages relating to the folk music genre.
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The Beatles – “The Beatles”
Everything The Beatles were is encapsulated in this double album. From R&B rock, to folk, to psychedelia and beyond. This is ‘The Beatles.’ (read more)
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Lasher Keen – “Berserker” (2012)
Berserker features paganistic folk heavily inspired by Comus. I have a hard time getting into any modern post-Comus pagan folk bands because of the different context. When Comus put out First Utterance in 1971, it was genuinely a risky, controversial move filled with true inspiration from its unpaved road. A band like Lasher Keen are one of many… (read more)
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Sun Kil Moon – “Benji” (2014)
I’m surprised at how much less wispy Kozelek’s voice sounds on Benji. I thought it was an age thing, but he brings it back at certain points, so I don’t really like his alternate delivery. A change I care for even less is how overtly literal, yet basic his lyrics are compared to when they… (read more)
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Comus Retrospective
(Original publication date unknown) There are few artists as expressive as telling a story as Comus. I wrote a bit about it in my review for First Utterance, particularly for their song “Diana,” but it’s true for their entire library (small as it is). Roger Wootton gets incredibly into the macabre stories he tells, yelping… (read more)
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Paul Giovanni / Gary Carpenter / Magnet – “The Wicker Man”
The Wicker Man is an awesome movie, which you obviously know if you’re at this page, and part of that is because it has an awesome soundtrack, which you obviously know if you’re at this page. Unfortunately, the soundtrack is too “literally” organized like most soundtracks, separating the traditional vocal songs (the ones you’re getting… (read more)
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Roy Harper – “Man & Myth”
You know, for someone who spent most of the ’80s directionless and confused about what the values in his music were, Roy Harper has made quite a stark recovery since 1990’s Once. Each album since has been an enjoyable affair from the cult-classic wordsmith and elegant string-picker, culminating in 2000’s The Green Man, which can truly be… (read more)
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The Byrds – “Turn! Turn! Turn!”
A solid album by The Byrds, but I’d have to say this one is only for fans. There are a couple of great songs on here, but an equal or greater amount of material are merely decent or good. The Byrds started to write more of their own material on Turn! Turn! Turn!, but they… (read more)
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Paul Simon – “There Goes Rhymin’ Simon” (1973)
There Goes Rhymin’ Simon is Paul Simon’s third solo album, but it’s the first that shows the next evolution in his songwriting after his work with Simon & Garfunkel. Though predominately driven by folk rock instrumentation like always, we see Simon incorporating many new instruments such as electric guitars, organs, and livelier percussion that’s heavier… (read more)
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Comus – “East of Sweden: Live at the Melloboat Festival 2008”
Er, how to critique this? The performances just sound so… impassioned. The opposite of what Comus should be. They are almost the exact same as their studio counterparts, just in worse quality. “Diana” is just too abrasive here and not very listenable. There’s a little bit of improvising in the middle of the songs but… (read more)
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Comus – “First Utterance”
An all-time favorite album, ‘First Utterance’ is shocking, anachronistic folk rock that caused a career shift and death of its band, Comus. (read more)