Folk rock is like the kale of music today: they've both got a long list of proven benefits, they were both virtually nonexistent for years and, like everything good, they've both been exploited to absurdity by their respective industries. Throw a rock in a room of newly scouted songwriters and you’re either hitting a wooden string instrument, a guy who looks like he crawled from the pages of a John Steinbeck novel, a girl who sings an exact octave higher than the guy, or some radio-ready combination of all three.
I blame this folk explosion, or folksplosion, on guys like Sam Beam and Ben Bridwell, two dudes with a mutual affinity for the South who, by no fault of their own, struck gold in the valley between “folk” and “indie rock” about 10 years ago. Fast forward to today, when most of us consume and expel music like it’s a fibrous leafy green, and band names like Iron & Wine and Band of Horses sound far more nostalgic than they have any right to.
Which is why teaming up to record a cover album is the smartest thing these two guys can do right now. It’s a fun, low-risk endeavor for both, a new release for us, and a healthy dose of familiarity for all involved.
Scheduled to release on July 17, Sing Into My Mouth features Beam and Bridwell taking on songs from the likes of the Talking Heads, Bonnie Raitt, Spirtualized, Pete Seeger and more.
They appeared on Letterman last night to play a fairly by-the-book take on Unicorn’s “No Way Out of Here”. Watch the performance, along with their recorded cover of Sade’s “Bullet Proof Soul” and get the full track list, below. To pre-order Sing Into My Mouth, go here.
Sing Into My Mouth
1. “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” (Talking Heads)
2. “Done This One Before” (Ronnie Lane)
3. “Any Day Woman” (Bonnie Raitt)
4. “You Know Me More Than I Know” (John Cale)
5. “Bulletproof Soul” (Sade)
6. “There’s No Way Out of Here” (Unicorn)
7. “God Knows (You Gotta Give to Get)” (El Perro del Mar)
8. “The Straight And Narrow” (Spiritualized)
9. “Magnolia” (JJ Cale)
10. “Am I A Good Man?” (Them Two)
11. “Ab’s Song” (Marshall Tucker Band)
12. “Coyote, My Little Brother” (Pete Seeger)