by Janet Goodman
You might as well give it up – some bands just can’t be labeled. Even when a genre of music makes up one-third of their name, Folk Family Revival is one such defiant band. Folk they are not. Folk/alt. country/americana/rock is more like it. This young quartet of three brothers and a childhood friend out of Magnolia, Texas also defy their ages. They are all in their early 20s, but with a mature artistry of musicians twice that.
“Unfolding” is FFR’s debut album, featuring thirteen original songs produced by Jeffery Armstreet. Frontman Mason Lankford has the voice of a tired old soul who has lived the words he sings, and is backed by creative arrangements, such as unexpected percussion and moaning undercurrents of organ and fiddle.
In relationship break-up song “Have a Nice Day,” Lankford sings with the ache of knowing it’s not working out. A haunting guitar lick is coupled with restrained wild-abandon drumming on “Fallin’,” while “Mountains” is unappologetically a bluegrass romper with an edge, and a whole lot of fiddle going on. Country shuffle “Come Get Me” gives listeners a ripping rock guitar solo, and fabulously heavy thumping bass drives final track “Ye of Little Faith.”
Bearing such a conservative name, Folk Family Revival can ambush ears with just how poetic and offbeat they can be. Dull they are not.
Visit their website at www.folkfamilyrevival.com
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