PopMatters' 20 Best Folk Albums of 2018

Reports that the acoustic-folk/Americana duo were recording their fourth album with the help of a full band may have led longtime fans to worry Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan were beefing up their understated sound and aiming for some grand sonic gesture. No worry needed: There’s strings, pedal steel, the occasional percussion, and a slow-boiling 10-minute-plus opus, “One More for the Road,” but these stretches don’t overreach or risk upsetting a chemistry that has been working for seven years. Since 2015’s *Monterey*, Pattengale was diagnosed with and recovered from cancer; the songs here are understandably introspective, but they’re never maudlin.

"...Rolland's spirited heart is unrelenting. The way in which she so passionately delivers these authentic slices of folk storytelling makes for some of the most compelling listening from out of the roots world so far this year." -For Folk's Sake

The third full-length album from trans-Atlantic recording artist Kyle Carey, whose synthesis of the Celtic, Americana and Appalachian traditions makes for her own unique brand of 'Gaelic Americana' music. 'The Art of Forgetting' was recorded in Louisiana, produced by Dirk Powell and includes roots luminaries such as Rhiannon Giddens, John McCusker and Mike McGoldrick as special guests.

Haley Heynderickx - Vocals, Acoustic & Electric Guitar Lily Breshears - Electric Bass, Piano, Backing Vocals Tim Sweeney - Upright Bass, Electric Bass Phillip Rogers - Drums & Percussion, Backing Vocals Denzel Mendoza - Trombone, Backing Vocals All songs written by Haley Heynderickx Produced by Zak Kimball Co-produced by Haley Heynderickx Engineered & Mixed by Zak Kimball at Nomah Studios in Portland, Oregon Mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk at Stereophonic Mastering in Portland, Oregon Vinyl cut by Adam Gonsalves at Telegraph Mastering in Portland, Oregon Cover Photo by Alessandra Leimer Design by Vincent Bancheri

Singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Dhruv Visvanath’s moving second album *The Lost Cause* reveals a deep, emotional journey beautifully carried by guitar strings. The inspiring single “Wild” has a raw folk feel with pure emotion radiating through an impassioned vocal. Pop lovers will take to “Botswana” with its up-tempo melody and catchy hooks, while the sensitive title track and “Afterglow” highlight the overall feeling and sentiment of this album.

After having embarked on the longest musical journey I’d ever been on, I took the time after to reflect on what each destination meant to me, to decipher the stories, the nuances, and embrace the friendships I’d built along the way. Nobody tells you how you’re supposed to reflect on a journey of self discovery, to list pros and cons, to reminisce and forget, or to just think of the journey as the baby you sen off to college. In fact why take it in the first place? What purpose do you hope to achieve from it? If the journey of self discovery leaves you asking more questions than answering them, is it truly a lost cause? The Lost Cause is a project two years in the making. After Looking at the millennial generation today, we often wonder about the paths we take, the risks we face chasing our dreams, the time we take to understand ourselves. I found a lot of young people in our day and age often embark on journeys to find ourselves. Through different experiences, career experiments, or trips around the world, we embark on journeys in the hopes we can understand ourselves better. And more often than not, we find answers that don’t satisfy us, and in the end, it feels like a lost cause. I guess I took a rather ironic look at the situation, and decided I would travel across India trying to find stories about my family and their history, looking at stories of where my father grew up, where my grandfather grew up, where my great grand father lived and worked. I figured the best way to understand who I am would be to see where I came from. I guess I looked at The Lost Cause ironically.

dead reckoning noun a method of establishing and advancing one's position using the known or estimated distance and direction travelled

Amy Helm may claim some measure of fame from her father, The Band’s Levon Helm, but the singer-songwriter has never had to exist in his shadow. Following her acclaimed 2015 solo debut, *Didn’t It Rain*, her sophomore effort continues showcasing her expansive, bluesy vocals. Produced by Joe Henry (Bonnie Raitt, Billy Bragg), the album traverses originals and covers, like The Milk Carton Kids’ “Michigan,” Allen Toussaint’s “Freedom for the Stallion,” and Robbie Robertson’s “The Stones I Throw.” With standouts like the title track, written by Hiss Golden Messenger and thrumming with a low-throated organ, Helm’s resilience finds reinforcement from gospel-inspired moments that help her wait out storms overhead. 

This Too Shall Light, due September 21, 2018 on Yep Roc Records, comprises 10 songs produced by Grammy-winning producer and songwriter Joe Henry. Helm left her home and comfort zone of Woodstock, NY, choosing to record in Los Angeles within the confines of just a four-day window. The musicians were directed not to overthink the songs, and Helm herself barely performed any of the selections while leading up to the recording. As a result, the sessions forced fast musical trust among the collaborators and yielded the vibrant instrumental improvisations heard throughout This Too Shall Light.

“Well, a goodbye never seems finished,” sing Klara and Johanna Söderberg on “Distant Star.” Written in the shadow of Klara’s split from her fiancé, much of their fourth album examines the difficulty of moving on, delivering despair and confusion through breathtakingly pure harmonies. For all the lyrical reflection, there’s a keen sense of forward thinking within the music. “Postcard” and “Distant Star” may offer exquisitely classic Americana, but the duo also draw on dream pop (“Fireworks”) and rippling electronic (“My Wild Sweet Love”) before squeezing a brass band and rowdy, closing-time chorus into “Hem of Her Dress.”

Debut EP - All instrument sounds on the album were recorded off a 5-String Banjo

The Brother Brothers carry the folk tradition for a new generation. Identical twins David and Adam Moss honor contemporary aches with the nostalgic tenderness of another time on their debut full-length album, SOME PEOPLE I KNOW, out October 19, 2018 on Compass Records. Their stunning songcraft blends masterfully gentle guitar, cello and five-string fiddle with the sublime sort of two-part harmonies only brothers can carry. Their palpably fraternal stage presence and wonderfully familiar heart have earned repute among a modern folk scene; The Brother Brothers have recently opened for Big Thief, Lake Street Dive, Shakey Graves and more. Recorded at Mark Ettinger’s Lethe Lounge in New York City with producer Robin Macmillan and engineer Jefferson Hamer, The Brother Brothers capably capture a modern snapshot of their surroundings. Yet, SOME PEOPLE I KNOW retains a timeless feel – something that the brothers were aiming for. “I just want people to listen to it once and want to listen to it again,” David says of the album. “And every time they listen to it, I want them to find something new and in some way relate it to themselves. Whether they're listening to it today or in 40 years, I hope it will make them feel just the same.”

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