When indie folk and folk rock gained popularity more than a decade ago, bands like Band of Horses, The Avett Brothers, The Decemberists, The Tallest Man In The World, Bon Iver, Bright Eyes, and many others benefited from that rise in the genre. And while the indie folk scene may have suffered a downturn in recent years, it’s refreshing to know that it’ll always exist, and we’ll always be here to deliver the artists, songs, and albums that we feel need to be heard.
For this particular post, we’re highlighting five predominantly indie folk releases dropped during the past couple to few years that you’ve probably never heard, but that we strongly recommend, especially if you’re a fan of indie DIY, under-the-radar damn good folk music – with rich and subtle infusions of bluegrass, rock, pop and country. These are albums that we did not hear at the time of their original release date, but should be part of the indie folk rock archives – and so here they are.
This post is also meant to bring your attention to the artists and bands themselves, and the songs and releases that first endeared us to them – not their most recent releases. None of these artists have been published on IRC before but they live on in our playlists forever. Enjoy.
In This Installment:
Roadkill Ghost Choir – Jacksonville, Florida
Miner – Los Angeles, California
Honey Locust – Nashville, Tennessee
Born Standing Up – Oxford, Mississippi
Waterwells – Birmingham, Alabama
Roadkill Ghost Choir – Quiet Light
Original release: July 2013
From the Florida swamp lands of gators and cypress trees covered with Spanish moss, comes the absolutely phenomenal ambient folk rock band Roadkill Ghost Choir. In recent years, they have enjoyed the kind of attention a talented DIY band deserves. To truly appreciate RKGC, we strongly recommend listening to the band’s releases from oldest to most recent.
The ball got rolling for RKGC in 2012 when Andy Shepard (vocals, guitar) was invited to perform a gig at a local club. Not wanting to perform solo because he feared it would bore the patrons, Shepard recruited his brothers – Maxx Shepard (drums) and Zach Shepard (bass) to join him on stage.
And that was the planting of the seed that eventually spawned spectacular songs like bluegrass tinged folk rock track, “Beggar’s Guild”; the heartbreakingly beautiful acoustic ballad, “Bird in the Window,” and the less folk-influenced, more rock-driven, “Devout,” from the band’s fantastic 2013 debut EP, Quiet Light . The original three-track EP received over 150,000 plays and more than 1,200 Likes on Soundcloud.
MP3: “Beggar’s Guild” – Roadkill Ghost Choir from Quiet Light EP
Not long after playing live together, the three brothers realized, and based on the response they received from the audience, that they had something special. Wasting no time, the Shepards drafted musicians Kiffy Meyers (pedal steel, banjo, guitar), Joey Davoli (keys, trumpet) and Stephen Garza (lead guitar) to create a fuller, bigger sound.
Bonus MP3: “Bird in the Window” – Roadkill Ghost Choir from Quiet Light
The re-released expanded version of the EP, released later on, includes songs like the jammin’ folk rocker, “Drifter,” and the dreamy, melodic hooks of “Tarot Youth.”
Jumping ahead to more recently, the band’s follow-up debut 2014 album, In Tongues, won huge praise and online love, propelling the band into a new realm of popularity. It’s not hard to believe at all, when we first listened to Quiet Light a few years ago, that RKGC came back the next year with a stellar debut album.