Mumford & Sons, Bison, Joshua Marcus [monday Threesome]

This week’s edition of Monday Threesome focuses on Bluegrass and Folk, two very popular touchstones for the alternative and indie-rock community. Listeners have continuously responded to the genres’ powerful arrangements, emotionally direct lyrics and reedy, strong and memorable lead vocals. The three bands below all work this lovely combination of heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics, folk/bluegrass instrumentation and emotional purging.

Little Lion Man – Mumford & Sons // Buy

These scratchy-voiced, banjo-loving boys from England quietly exploded in 2010, and by February of 2011 (almost a year to the day after Sigh No More’s US release) they were sharing the stage with Bob Dylan at the Grammy Awards. Following a well-crafted and defined pattern to achieve this success, Mumford and Sons’ (@mumfordnsons) generally begin their tracks quietly and slowly, then build to an explosive release. Featuring quickly strummed banjo and loud vocals from lead singer Marcus Mumford, this style blends perfectly with the band’s poignant lyrics. For all of their folk and bluegrass trappings, though, the band maintains an air of a rock that simply relies on dobro instead of a heavily affected electric guitar. The Sons are hard at work on their second album, but until that arrives, here are a few things to tide you over: a live-in-the-studio presentation of a song tentatively titled “Ghosts That We Knew”, some lovely tour documentaries and live performances and a series of sessions in an intimate bookstore venue.

Switzerland – Bison // Buy

Bison (@bisonfolk), hailing from Chesapeake, VA, truly capture the musical heritage of their home and demonstrate that with the huge passion they bring to their music. Distinguishing themselves from other groups in the genre, they also incorporate a unique, classical element to their sound, which features a full string section and arrangements to match. The title track to their newest album, a perfect example of this, begins with beautifully intertwined violin and mandolin sounds that build to include choral vocals and cello. Giving equal merit to both classical and folk/bluegrass, Benjamin Hardesty’s lead vocals follow with great intensity. Their debut album Quill is available free to stream on Bandcamp.

Joshua Marcus may be on the quieter end of this spectrum, but his music is no less emotive. With each track, he layers his verbose lyrics and delicate but piping voice over lovely arrangements and beautiful melodies. His newest EP, Uke Yr Illusion (amazing title), features songs primarily written and arranged on the Ukulele. While piano, guitar and other instruments also play a part, the Uke is clearly the main rhythmic and melodic force in the instrumental section. Joshua’s Myspace page features 3 songs from the EP, includinG my personal favorite “Yr Directions From”, and 2 songs from a past album, the simple and heartbreaking “Part In It” and the stranger, impressionistic “Sow Low So Love So Long”. Check him out, then visit his website to see more albums and songs from this excellent troubadour.