Five Easy Masterpieces: an introduction to anti-folk
New York City has been responsible for many different movements in art, music, and culture over the years. From punk to disco, pop art to abstract expressionism, the Big Apple has repeatedly proven itself to be a haven for budding young artists ready to tear down conventions and create something entirely new. The anti-folk movement, which emerged from the city during the mid-1980s, is a particularly good example of this, seeing outsider artists achieve widespread acclaim without sacrificing their principles.
Back in the 1950s and 1960s, countless young musicians travelled to New York with the hopes of inspiring a renaissance in folk music. Figures like Bob Dylan helped to establish the city as a playground for folk artists to express themselves through the age-old traditions of the genre. By the 1980s, however, NYC’s folk scene had become plagued by snobbery, with young artists looking to express themselves and deliver a message through music turned away from folk clubs and record labels. Undeterred, a small group of artists, including the likes of Lach, Roger Manning, and Cindy Lee, formed their own movement: anti-folk.
Built on a staunchly DIY ethos and often satirical lyricism, anti-folk mocked the musical mainstream of the era, as well as the folk scene of New York. Soon, though, the style proved itself to have an appeal much broader than the confines of Manhattan, spreading far and wide across the globe and inspiring a plethora of DIY and outsider artists to embrace the defiant attitude of the movement. So much so that, even into the early 2000s, anti-folk records were still being produced and appreciated by figures like Jeffrey Lewis.
Unlike the original folk revival that took New York by storm back in the 1960s, anti-folk rarely troubled the mainstream music industry. While the movement did produce some notable figures, most obviously Beck, anti-folk has always stayed true to its DIY outsider roots, which is perhaps why its relevancy has never particularly waned over the past four decades. So, in an attempt to shine a light on this incredible music scene, we have collated five of the greatest records from across the anti-folk world for your listening pleasure.
Five essential anti-folk albums:
5. Roger Manning – Roger Manning (1988)
Roger Manning was among the founders of the anti-folk scene in its very early days. Turned away from New York’s folk clubs, Manning often occupied himself by busking in subway stations, something he was later arrested for. In 1985, he took part in a lengthy legal battle that eventually ruled busking a protected form of expression under the US Constitution; underdog stories don’t come much better than that. His 1988 debut album remains an anti-folk classic, helping to define the conventions of the genre.
In terms of sound, Manning’s eponymous album is not worlds apart from traditional folk music, but it contains an attitude and approach to music that is inseparable from the anti-folk scene. His later material is potentially more inventive and timeless than this record or some of the other albums on this list, but the debut album was utterly essential in establishing the sound and attitude of anti-folk.
4. Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard – ‘Em Are I (2009)
He might have been too young to take part in the emergence of anti-folk, but New Yorker Jeffrey Lewis has been crafting beautiful anti-folk-adjacent records for decades now. His early records, in particular, seem to reflect his time playing at venues like SideWalk Cafe – arguably the ground zero for anti-folk as a movement. However, this 2009 album, ‘Em Are I, is an excellent showcase of his diverse and adaptable talents. Complete with high-energy indie rock numbers like ‘Slogans’, melancholic folk tracks like ‘Roll Bus Roll’, and even hints at jazz on ‘Upside-down Cross’, it is difficult to pin the record to one genre over another.
Lewis himself has been pretty open about his scepticism of the anti-folk label, arguing that nobody really knows what it means or how to define it. However, Lewis’ endless commitment to independent, DIY creation and musical exploration certainly aligns him with the ethos of the movement. Truthfully, any Jeffrey Lewis album could easily be included in this list, but ‘Em Are I, in particular, is a highlight within his discography.
3. Regina Spektor – Soviet Kitsch (2003)
Not every anti-folk artist was born and bred in New York. In fact, Moscow-born Regina Spektor became one of the genre’s most popular exports upon the release of her 2003 record Soviet Kitsch. Contrasting her upbringing in Soviet-era Russia with the independent music she witnessed in New York after relocating there in 1989, the album is truly a masterpiece of anti-folk.
Not only did Soviet Kitsch capture the independent, almost improvisational spirit of the movement, but it also suggested that there was room for expansion within its inherent sound. Although the record was never a mainstream hit, its 2004 reissue by Sire Records helped to bring a colossal level of attention to Spektor’s music, making her an icon of anti-folk in the process. Of all the albums on this list, Soviet Kitsch is arguably the most influential, inspiring everybody from Kate Nash to St. Vincent.
2. The Moldy Peaches – The Moldy Peaches (2001)
Marking the crossover point between anti-folk and slacker rock, The Moldy Peaches arguably captured the lo-fi spirit of early 2000s indie-folk on their self-titled debut album. In terms of sound, this record shares a lot in common with the indie movement that was bubbling away in New York around the turn of the millennium, but with suitably DIY, slacker energy owing to the band’s regular appearances at the SideWalk Cafe.
The band were also adept in capturing the humour of anti-folk, which has always been a key component of the genre’s style. Once again, this record did not witness any form of mainstream or commercial success upon its widespread release in 2001, but has since amassed a cult following owing to various appearances in films like Juno.
1. Beck – Mellow Gold (1994)
Mellow Gold is something of an anomaly within this list; Beck wasn’t from New York, and this album performed incredibly well in a commercial sense. Nevertheless, the smash-hit 1994 album owes a large portion of its success to the impact and sound of anti-folk. After all, when Beck relocated to NYC in the late 1980s, he became infatuated with the emerging sound of anti-folk, and that carried on through to his breakthrough success on songs like ‘Loser’.
Sure, ‘Loser’ doesn’t sound nearly as lo-fi, DIY, or acoustic as any of the other efforts included here, but its slacker leanings and self-deprecating lyrics are lifted directly from the sounds of the SideWalk Cafe. Inevitably, the intense success of Mellow Gold soon led Beck to explore other avenues of inspiration, and throughout his career, the songwriter has embraced various styles and genre conventions. However, the roots of Beck’s approach to music are forever cemented in the anti-folk scene, and Mellow Gold exists as a reminder of that fact.
