Folktronica, a bit like Americana or phrases such as old news, small crowd, understated guitar player or benevolent record label, are descriptions that I have never really understood. Like many generic terms, one of the problems with such a label is that you need help finding two people who agree on what it means. But I will say this: if Desk Lamps are indeed Folktronica, as their bio often claims, then I’m a fan of the genre. I’m a big fan. Why? Because, at the risk of throwing in yet another oxymoron, they are awfully good!
And if the term seems to describe both a genre (folk) and a musical approach (electronica), then from the point of view of where they appear on the The Big and Clever Venn Diagram of Music Making, it is music found in that small overlap between folk and dream-pop and electronica, with ambient indie and alt-pop not entirely out of earshot too.
“Shape I’m In” bubbles along on liquid grooves, a blend of poised and polished electronica fashioned into a modern take on folk music, or at least what folk music could become if it wasn’t the bastion of gatekeeping individuals called Brian (probably) wearing cable-knit sweaters, sporting beards and pipes and reeling off anecdotes about how they managed to find an original copy of Liege and Lief on Discogs for under a tenner.
“Shape I’m In” comes with an excellent sonic travelling companion, what we once referred to as a B-side (ah, those were the days)in the guise of “Rude Health”, which is equally sublime, equally loveable.
Buy it. It’s ace!
