Phosphorescent

Folk music, in many ways, tends to be a stripped-away version of shoegaze. The musicians mop about, don't look at the audience, sing moody, sad songs, and wrap around you an acoustic guitar wave of sound, often times very similar to the wall of reverb-y sound that shoegazers will blast you with.

Maybe the connection isn't all that strong, but there certainly are plenty of parallels. "Happy" folk, "up-beat" and "energetic" folk aren't style that anyone's really familiar with ... just the thought of "energetic folk" seems impossibly contradictory.
Or that's what I've thought. Phosphorescent (signed to the always wonderful Dead Oceans) plays this awesome sing-along, impeccably arranged, uplifting, but terribly morose breed of folk music. There's something sing-along-y about this stuff ... something that makes you want to stand up and hold hands with your neighbors, as lame and boring as that sounds ...

That, and the fact that Phosphorescent has something moderately country-ish about the style ... maybe the music is just really easy to take and digest ... it just slides down your throat like a buttery scoop of mashed potatoes.

I'm going to far now. What you should've done by now is have the below song, from the forthcoming Pride LP, downloaded and no longer be reading my stupid wussy rant. The album's out on October 23 via Dead Oceans.

Phosphorescent - A Picture Of Our Torn Up Praise