Mind Equals Blown

I know what you might be thinking – “Folk? I don’t want to listen any music that I might hear at the Renaissance Fair.” In truth, you would TECHNICALLY be correct in assuming that is Folk music, but that age is over and done with.

As a writer, the gist of what I will be bringing you is the new and improved rehashing of the genre of Folk music that gained prominence in the early 1950′s. I will be doing editorials and reviews on classic Folk artists in the form of “Folk Artist of the Month” and I will showcase new music bi-weekly in “Fortnight in Folk” (catch the medieval reference?).

Mind Equals Blown, thus far, has been centrally focused on Hardcore music and its variations, which is perfect for the first ever “Folk Artist of the Month:”

Dallas Green – Singer/Guitarist of Alexisonfire – if you didn’t already know has his own solo project, City and Colour. His solo sound is none other than that of Folk music in the present day.

If you are not familiar with Green’s solo moniker, I advise you to youtube “Dallas Green City And Colour” and click any link you see, he is just that good at what he does. Dallas formally started his solo project in 2005, when Alexis fans scouring the internet found acoustic songs that he had recorded before and during Alexisonfire. Kids would come up to him after nearly every show, asking when a solo record would be released. To appease his fans he re-recorded and added new songs to a record and released it. Even he could not have predicted the success of Sometimes. Green’s soft voice was something that many people were not a stranger to, but with City and Colour he was able to take it to a whole other level.

His latest release Bring Me Your Love is a record that I cannot go a day without. It seems that every song has a lyric that directly relates to you, your life, or a situation you might be in. Unlike “Sometimes” there are a lot more Folk elements in his sophomore release, with the addition of a full band. Along with his signature guitar, there are hints of banjo, mandolin and a lot more drums. He even has backup singing which brings all new life to his songs. The unique thing about BMYL is that after listening to it literally hundreds of times, I can STILL listen and find something new in a song, there is that much going on. A perfect example is the video below from his label’s YouTube channel for the video “The Girl”, for which he even recorded original audio.

Dallas has announced 2010 will bring a new album from City and Colour, expect a review of that when the times comes.