A genre I had never thought about until recently was folk punk music. When I was first told about Blackbird Raum, I was immediately interested in giving them a listen, and tonight’s the night I listen to an album from them. Blackbird Raum is a folk punk band from Santa Cruz that was formed in 2004 by a banjoist and an accordionist. Wikipedia lists their related genres as anarcho-punk, acoustic, folk punk, blues, traditional folk music, and country, while instruments that might be featured in their music from what I can find on their Wikipedia page would include the banjo, accordion, washboard, washtub bass, musical saw, and mandolin. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited to give this album a listen. With that said, I’m going to go ahead and jump on into the music.
“Turning Away” starts out with some super interesting and nearly epic sounding folk strings with a bit of drone underneath from what could be the accordion. Oh wow, this is super interesting; the stringed instruments have an almost upbeat polka feel to them at the moment, yet there’s a bit of grit provided by the washboard and the vocals have a ton of force behind them as they scream into the soundscape, almost as if they didn’t have microphones for the singers, but the band just sang louder and more forcefully until their voices had nowhere else to go but into the recording. Super interesting track that has me excited for the rest of the album.
Oh wow, “Catherine’s Wheel” starts out with some super interesting folksy chords, creating a soundscape that gradually rotates about itself. Oh wow, this is super sweet. It kind of reminds me a bit of Streetlight Manifesto, a punk ska band. Great track.
Oh wow, “Lucasville” starts out again with a super folksy soundscape with an epic feel as the instruments gradually enter the soundscape one at a time, creating a slow moving drone-like conglomeration of strings and accordions at the beginning, until the tune drops into place where the band speeds up and intensifies their playing for some super interesting jams. This is very much a different combination of sounds from what I’ve ever listened to, and I absolutely dig it. Great track.
“Allturningbacksinthemeadowandwaitwhilebonesarethrown” starts out with some quite pleasant playing from the accordion, almost soothing the listener against the harsh energetic vocals from the end of the last tune. Oh wow, the female vocalist comes on with some super pleasant vocals to accompany the accordion. Great short track.
Oh wow, “To the Barricades!” almost has a bit of medieval folk sound to it, which the band gradually introduces to some super forceful vocals that gradually meet up with and move alongside the instrumentation quite nicely at the chorus. Oh wow, the medley of stringed instruments seemingly delicately lays out a melody that the rest of the instrumentations gradually follows down. This song seems to bring about the notion that though punk music as we know it didn’t necessarily exist until the 1960s, the idea of punk has possibly been alive for centuries. Great track.
“William” has some super quick and nice folk instrumentation from the background that infuses the tune with tons of energy. Oh wow, the mandolin seems to rain notes into the soundscape as the tune travels on. Great tune.
“The Helm of Ned Kelly” has some notably smooth and passionate vocals that accompany the nearly polka sounding folk instrumentation (though my use of polka here might be only because of the accordion and folksy stringed instruments). Wow, this track is sweet. The vocals seem to be telling a story of sorts, super sweet, almost as if the band is leaning into their folksy roots a lot more than I might have otherwise noticed in this tune. Great track.
Oh wow, “Crumbs” almost has a bit of bluegrass sound to it at first. Oh wow, this track is super interesting and has a ton of chaotic energy that is channeled into quick chops from the stringed instruments. Super sweet track.
“Snare” has a super fast paced feel, which almost seems to pick up in intensity when the mandolin and/or banjo plucks some super quick notes. Oh wow, the band plays really well as one tight and cohesive unit. The string instruments seem to quickly clear a path for the song to groove down, while the accordion more or less pushes and pulls the band down said tracks, with the washboard serving as the wheels that the vocals ride down the tracks on. Really sweet track.
“Ensemble Suicide” changes up in feel a bunch from the previous tracks with an almost bluesy, melancholic sound from the band as the strings ring out a bit more and the accordion creates a droning line from the background that the rest of the instrumentation seems to groove on top of. I think I just noticed the washboard bass for the first time, and I really dig it, as it’s creating a deep and muddy thud that continually moves the tune forward. Super sweet energetic track.
Oh wow, “Old One Eye” is a super desolate sounding bluesy folk tune, with sparse strings alongside the vocals on top of a gentle low drone from the background. Great quick tune.
“Conquest of Bread” has a super interesting feel as the band seems to be verging nearly on the sound of an old English sea shanty in terms of the sound of the instrumentation, with a pace that’s a bit slowed down from some previous track, but the slower pace makes space for some more melodic folksy playing from the band. The vocals are super smooth compared to some of the other tracks, while still retaining their passion. Great track.
“A Rat In My Dream” has an optimistic sound with the major sounding accordion work while the vocals seem to rally around themselves. Super sweet short tune.
“Path of Raven” is incredibly interesting right away, with the low droning sound of the accordion and what even sounds to be an organ underneath, though that might also be the accordion. Holy smokes, this track is sweet. There’s almost a sort of religious sound behind the music as it sounds super harmonious and as if it resolves a ton of tension that built up throughout the album. Wow, I’m really digging this track. There’s even a bit of that polka feel still. Great way to finish the album with a great track.
Wow, this album was sweet. I had never heard folk punk music before, but I’m going to check out more of it soon. If you dig folk music to any degree and are a fan of punk music at all, you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A