Girl-folk takes over, spreads joy

Sandwiches make me happy. New issues of Rolling Stone make me happy. My pet gecko makes me… Sandwiches make me happy. New issues of Rolling Stone make me happy. My pet gecko makes me happy. A new addition to this already-extensive list is girl-folk.

Though maybe not as badass as a good deli sandwich or Chubby, my small, striped lizard, this bunch makes me very happy. In fact, I’m listening to some right now, and, really, I couldn’t be happier. I’ll try to convey this sentiment by using a lot of exclamation points!

Everyone knows what folk music is – most people probably think about Bob Dylan, Crosby, Stills and Nash or their weird uncle who pulls out his acoustic guitar at family barbecues and sings songs about peace that he used to play in the ’60s while he dropped a lot of acid.

While those things are certainly good representatives of folk rock, there’s a new generation of this stripped-down music that’s been coming back in a big way, with storytelling lyrics, raw and emotional content and political agendas still intact.

Some of the best commercials (Thanks, Mac) and movies (Thanks, “Juno”) of late have featured modern folk songs, many straying from the classical instrumentation of just guitars and sparse percussion in favor of much bigger arrangements.

While many of the boys in Camp Folk Rock have veered in a more experimental direction, often dubbed freak-folk, the ladies tend to keep it simple, catchy and fun.

And though folks like Devendra Banhart, Iron and Wine, Sufjan Stevens and Animal Collective do make me near-ecstatic, it’s my new obsession with a cache of female singer-songwriters that inspired this column.

Currently, the first lady of indie-folk is Feist. You know her from the iPod Nano commercial featuring a lot of dancing and a song that made you whistle for at least two days. For better or worse, I haven’t yet stopped!

The song is called “1234,” and it’s got banjo, hand claps and horns, three strikes on the awesome list in my book. Fortunately for all of us, Feist does have more than one song. And, what’s more, she’s also got a first name!

Leslie Feist has spent time playing in Canada’s best supergroup (and there actually is competition in that category), Broken Social Scene, and released two albums of her own soulful, lyrical and beautiful folk-leaning music. She’s also currently nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy. In other words, check her out immediately.

Another foreign import is Regina Spektor, who, with her just-detectable Russian accent, expertly mixes the witty lyrics of folk with her romp-stomp piano for songs that sting at first but then check to see if you’re ok.

Her best song, “Samson,” finds her singing “You are my sweetest downfall, I loved you first” one second then about eating Wonderbread the next. The tune seems to work a reverse heartbreak on me – even though it’s truly devastating, I can’t help but smile.

Though unlikely, Spektor’s jams may be even more whistle-able than Feist’s. Just try to abstain on elevators – you’ll get some weird looks. Believe me. I’ve had some awkward trips to class.

Also from across the pond comes Yael Naim, the Paris-via-Israel singer-songwriter whose uber-happy “New Soul” is currently spotlighted on Mac’s ad for its new MacBook Air.

The tune is about the happiest thing on TV since, well, Feist, and the “La la la la la” chorus will lodge itself in your brain for a yet-to-be-determined amount of time. Don’t worry, though. You’ll be a better person for it!

If these suggestions don’t get you smiling, there is one secret weapon in the girl-folk arsenal that will make even the grumpiest hater crack a grin. Her name is Kimya Dawson, and she sings songs about tire swings, giants and how great it is to have friends.

Even with lyrics like “You are my elbow, you are my buttercup / Spoonful of puppycat, bellyful of kittypup,” her direct delivery makes you believe she means it.

Though Dawson’s been around for a while now, she’s currently gaining some mainstream exposure because of her several contributions to the “Juno” soundtrack, perfectly matching the quirky innocence of the flick’s characters. Her songs are utterly simplistic, rarely with more than an acoustic guitar and Dawson’s half-sung, half-spoken vocals, all on four-track to sound like they were recorded in a closet.

Though it all sounds like it’s for kids – and, by all means, kids would love this – Dawson’s tunes take adult emotions and situations and evaluate them from a much younger perspective. In “Anyone Else But You,” a song she wrote as part of the Moldy Peaches, she sings of love with lyrics like “Here is the church and here is the steeple. We sure are cute for two ugly people / I don’t see what anyone can see in anyone else but you.”

It’s childish, yea, but what kid isn’t totally happy? We could all be a little more lighthearted with a little more Kimya Dawson in our lives.

So there you have it – some female folk singers who, I promise, will brighten your day. It sure worked for me!