/folk/

can someone recc me some good contemporary folk?

>pic related is the only thing from the genre i really know, but your reccs dont have to be like this

also /folk/ general if you want

leonard cohen – songs of leonard cohen
john fahey – fare forward voyagers
joanna newsom – have one on me

I believe I know of some pretty good artists/albums to recommend. My recommendations are going to be mostly newer things as I like to listen to music from my era. You won't go wrong looking into older artists, though.

This is a variety of mostly contemporary stuff that varies from some standard folk sounds, neofolk/freak folk, and other subcategories. I hope you find something to enjoy. Some of the albums I will list ventures slightly into Western/country territory which might be a turn-off for some but I would thoroughly recommend using your own discretion as you could be surprised.

Sadly, I do not know of any albums quite like Faces in the Rocks even though I have searched for some. It is so beautiful. Her other releases hardly match it, in my opinion.

>Andrew Jackson Jihad
A folk punk group. People That Can Eat People Are The Luckiest People in the World is pretty folky. Can't Maintain is similar with Knife Man being quite punk with folk flavors in some songs.

>Angels of Light
A darker, brooding group that is the side-project of Michael Gira of Swans. New Mother is the best neofolk of the group but I would recommend any of their albums for someone getting into folk music.

>Animal Collective
The albums I would recommend to you are Sung Tongs, Campfire Songs, and Prospect Hummer. Animal Collective's ventures into folk is more of the psychadelic persuasion.

>Big Blood
A freak folk group. My favorite album is Dark Country Magic but you can't go wrong with their other albums. Their stuff is available through Bandcamp.

>Bob Dylan
I don't think any description is needed.

>Bon Iver
For Emma Forever Ago and Bon, Iver, Bon Iver are tow very good indie folk albums.

>Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
A more twangy indie folk artist. I See a Darkness is the only album of his that I am extremely familiar with.

Will cont.

>Bright Eyes
Not all of this group's albums are folk but two of his are very good listens. I'm Wide Awake It's Morning is more contemporary sounding with the album Cassadaga being a more psychadelic variety.

>The Decemberists
This group is more of a baroque pop/indie group but, nonetheless, some of their albums are fairly folky. You won't go wrong listening to any of their albums but particular focus should be given to The Crane Wife.

>Devendra Banhart
Possibly my favorite artist. He is a Venezuelan -born freak folk artist. Cripple Crow, Nino Rojo, Rejoicing in the Hands, and What Will We Be? are all very good albums.

>Father John Misty
An indie folk artist. He's hard not to enjoy.

>Fleet Foxes
An essential folk group. Listen to all their stuff!

>Fleetwood Mac
Folk rock

>Gregory Alan Isakov
A contemporary folk artist. Sadly, he only has two releases but both are good.

>Grizzly Bear
I am only familiar with Yellow House but, I believe, their other releases also capture an indie folk feel.

>Iron & Wine
Another essential indie folk group.

>Joanna Newsom
An user above me also recommended her. She is very good. None of her releases are bad but Have One On Me is my personal favorite.

>Johnny Cash
He is country but maybe you'll enjoy the man in black.

>Lord Huron
His two albums are good indie folk. Lonesome Dreams makes me feel like a magical cowboy with Strange Trails being a good starting point for the genre.

>The Mountain Goats
Some of their albums are a miss. Tallahassee is widely enjoyed on Sup Forums. Their early stuff is pretty lo-fi with their later stuff getting more production value- Tallahassee is an example of their later sounds. The Sunset Tree, Zopilote Machine, All Hail West Texas, Moon Colony Bloodbath, Sweden, and Zopilote Machine are all other albums that I enjoy. Give some a try and see if you find something YOU like.

Will cont.

>Phosphorescent
His sound is more country-like than some of the other artists I am listing but he still maintains a folksy sound. Muchacho is pretty twangy while Pride is a more wintery-sounding folk album at its core.

>Simon & Garfunkel
Essential folk rock

>Six Organs of Admittance
A drone folk group. Dark noontide is my favorite.

>Sufjan Stevens
An indie folk artist. He has some non-folk albums in his discography. You will likely enjoy Chicago, Seven Swans, All Delighted People, The Avalanche, and Carrie and Lowell.

>Sun Ki Moon
This group is pretty enjoyed on Sup Forums. Benji and Ghosts of the Old Highway are good listens for indie folk.

>The Tallest Man on Earth
A Swedish guy who makes the most twangy folk I have ever heard. Shallow Graves and The Wild Hunt are really good. Again, be prepared for a very twangy voice.

>Wovenhand
A freak folk album that explores a dark, brooding sound with Christan themes in its lyrics. I would recommend Mosaic, Blush Music, and Consider the Birds.

Anyways, that concludes all of my recommendations. If anyone can recommend me some things not on my list I would also appreciate it.

brooo you really know your shit, thank you so much for the reccs, i'll really dig into this list

No problem. Folk is my favorite genre and it hardly gets any love on Sup Forums. It isn't pretentious enough, I reckon.

i've got to admit that i'd hardly listened to any folk music before faces in the rocks, and the 'folk essentials' charts didnt look very up to date
that could be it, everyone seems to love joanna newsom though to be fair

Only good folk revival artist is Dylan and only his first 3 albums are good.

Could you post the folk essentials you are referring to? I am curious because I have never found one widely posted on Sup Forums. I only have one for freak folk.

this is the one i was looking at
but there's quite a lot on it to decide where to start and '90s to present' isnt very helpful

any today's folk with "indie" excluded?
and I don't mean urban American singer-songwriters

>no anthology of american folk music
Really?

That list seems better than the recommendations I gave you. My list is much more of the indie persuasion.

What are you interested in? Some more traditional sounding folk, psychadelic, etc.? Maybe I could help but it seems unlikely as most of the artists I listen to are pretty indie.

But if I can try to steer you somewhere you want to be I would be interested in doing so.

>That list seems better than the recommendations I gave you
my main problem was that i wanted some up to date stuff and that list seems mostly geared towards older folk, and doesnt really have anything from the past 10 years or so on it

I do follow, now. I stand by the list that I gave you, then!

yeah i'll definitely listen through your list first, then maybe go back onto the older stuff if i get that into it

incredible string band
vashti bunyan
dr strangely strange
alexander 'skip' spence
pentangle
fairport convention
pearls before swine
comus

"folk" as in "folklore", not 3 guys jamming in a garage

My favorite folk albums are:
Astral weeks by van Morrison
Visions of the country by Robbie basho
The hangman’s beautiful daughter by the incredible string band
The yellow princess by John Fahey
Basket of light by the pentangle
Rainy day raga by peter walker
It’s so hard to tell who’s going to love you by Karen dalton
Unicorn by Tyrannosaurus rex
Jack Orion by Bert jansch
Raag manifestos by jack rose
Pretty much every Bob Dylan album
Etc.

Really though, you should just look at this chart , to get used to the genre and more of an idea of what you like. Then you can expand upon that on your own

This is a horrible list, indie folk is probably the worst sub genre of folk. I don’t want to say all indie folk is bad, but in general it is an embarrassment to the genre, some of these artists I would even advise against listening to

This is a good list

I am this guy , , I like what I like but out of curiosity which of these artists would you advise against listening to? Moreover, what artists out of my listings do you enjoy?

awesome album OP seriously. It's a shame so few Sup Forumstants know about this

all of this is garbage and/or not contemporary folk
except for bob dylan of course

I think I am confused by the term 'contemporary,' then.

I should have researched more accordingly, but I equated it more to 'indie' as a modern interpretation of the genre. I have been wrong before and I realize that I may have steered OP in a direction different than what he was interested in.

However, though there is varying degree of quality in my listings, not everything is garbage!

This is an album you'll likely enjoy a lot, especially during winter time

why the fuck does this chart not have more richard thompson on it then?