By Jason Crider
jason.crider@secondsupper.com
With the exception of the latest Iron & Wine LP, I have been very disappointed with modern “folk” music lately. I use quotation marks here because, technically, I’m not using that genre correctly and I don’t want to piss off any of my hipster friends. What I should say is that lately I have been disappointed with the perplexingly multifaceted and somewhat contradictory sub-genre that is currently known as contemporary alternative folk. Lately a lot of these “folk” artists seem to think that branding themselves with this genre gives them artistic license to abandon all drive and creativity in exchange for a lazy, regurgitated and uninspired sound. I’ve heard a lot of music critics accredit the cult popularity of “O Brother, Where art Thou?” with the monstrous “indie folk” uprising that has happened over the past few years. Seriously? I mean, I’ll admit I have the soundtrack on my iPod, (with a play count at 23, for those of you keeping score), but I didn’t see it as grounds for some kind of musical revolution. I’m probably just too mainstream to understand it all though.
That being said, I was mentally preparing myself for even more disappointment when I started listening to the folk-influenced Sundial Tree by Midwestern singer/songwriter Michelle Lynn. I wasn’t disappointed at all though; it took a few spins, but I’m starting to really get into this album. Sundial Tree is a concept album that Lynn describes as focusing on the relationship between nature, mathematics, beauty and time, a somewhat eclectic, yet surprisingly harmonious assortment of ideas that flow quite naturally with the feel of the album. What I found most refreshing about this album was that it didn’t consist of the typical singles-oriented structure that many modern albums become crippled by; rather it flows more like one solid musical exploration.
Throughout the album’s thirteen tracks, Lynn sings with a sense of genuine conviction and honesty, with a voice that I can only describe as soulful and powerful. Sundial Tree is, at the very core, a solid album filled with songs that are simultaneously upbeat and calming, which gives the listener a feeling of oneness with nature without any of that cliché hippie nonsense. Lynn is joined on the album by “the Bad Passengers,” a name referring to bassist Adam Ptacek, who is also Lynn’s boyfriend, and drummer Matt Olson, who recorded the album in his basement studio in Onalaska. Olson is known in the La Crosse area for his work as Brahman Shaman, a band in which he writes, plays, records and produces all of his own music.
Michelle Lynn and the Bad Passengers, Brahman Shaman and Mouse Pocket will be playing an all-ages show at the Root Note on Friday, Feb. 4 at 8:30 p.m.
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