Our Fold self-describes as a four piece
Indie/Rock band from Bolton (England). They are not indie rock in the same
manner as some of the other bands I have reviewed, in that they are not overly
techno and do in fact rock. So, I appreciate that about them, right off the
bat.
Again, this is a band that came to my
attention because they followed me on Twitter. Based on the timeline of when
they followed me, I should still not be reviewing them for a few weeks, but
they did this thing where you could sign up to get a download of their entire
catalog, and that kind of moved them ahead of many others. Yes, it does give me
something to work with, but also I have really been enjoying them.
Influences listed are Nirvana, James, Stone
Roses, Echo & the Bunnymen, U2, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Green Day,
Metallica & More. That’s quite a list, and while those aren’t necessarily
whom I hear when I am listening, the range makes sense. It’s not that Our Fold
does not have their own sound – they do —but they encompass a lot of variety
within that range.
The verses in “Back in Check” remind me of
Johnny Cash, while they hearken back to traditional minstrelsy on “King of
Howfen”. I would definitely describe them as guitar-driven, but they make
effective use of other instruments as well, including really creative and
fascinating percussion. Sometimes there is more cowbell, but then there may be
castanets or something else non-traditional that completely works within the
song. “Victim of Lies” may be the best example of this.
The guitars groove hard. Sometimes it seems
more like jangle (I think that’s the right term), and sometimes it leans more
towards hard rock. I can totally believe that they were influenced by
Metallica, even though that had not occurred to me on first listen. Personally,
the first other band I thought of was The Cult, followed by The Clash, and
maybe a little bit of The Replacements. Eclectic? Yes, but I just have to give
them that much credit for having such a clear identity, and being so much
themselves.
Some of this may be their emotional openness.
There is a lot of heart in their songs. Sometimes they are plaintive and
pleading, but always there is feeling. And that’s not to say that I love all of
their songs. Some of them don’t sit as well with me. Those tracks seem to be a
little more hippie-ish, which is ultimately a matter of my taste, but what I
think when listening is that they are experimenting. They are being inventive,
and risk-taking, and they come up with a lot of good results.
For personal favorites I need to call out
“Victim of Lies”, “She Goes On”, “Reap What You So”, and “Descension”. Check
out these for sure, and then keep going.
I’m including several links below. I think
the Soundcloud one is the most useful for listening. I could not find that they
were currently available on Amazon or iTunes, and they are definitely not on
Spotify. From the Facebook page you can find a list of upcoming performances,
and a phone number for bookings. Obviously, they are not as far along as they
could be, but I hope they get there. They have a lot to offer.
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2 comments:
Spot on that. It's fantastic you take the time to do this. Our fold have been my favourite 'new band' for a while now.
Thanks Paul. I've been enjoying doing the music reviews in general, but it's best with a good band, and Our Fold has been a real find.
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