My ardour for music ingrained with folk sensibilities – however centric or tangential – has been on an exclusively upward trajectory over the past few years: artists such as Arny Margret and Lizzy McAlpine pierce the modest gaps in my often hardened, cynical exterior, soothing me at my core with their melodious vocals, heartfelt lyrics, and deceitfully textured instrumentation. It does something inescapable to me that I’m sure many can relate to. It came as neither a surprise nor an understatement, then, that I was endeared to Australian group Folk Bitch Trio almost instantly.
Now Would Be A Good Time is the debut full-length album from the Melbourne three-piece, although they have been enticing listeners with their sonic seductions for several years now. Being acutely aware of the sombre and melancholic connotations of wider folk music, Folk Bitch Trio present a cocktail of the Molotov variety that, in their own words, ‘sets [it] alight, safe from the self-serious traps of the genre’. The results – much like the creative trifecta behind them – speak very much for themselves. Between them, Gracie Sinclair, Heide Peverelle, and Jeanie Pilkington pool their talents to create music that catches, holds, and refuses to release you, laced as it is with a potent concoction of youthful curiosity, tenacious intent and unquestionable sincerity.
The band’s desire to forge an identity set apart from the more historically wistful tendencies aligned with folk music is no bad thing, either. Rather than absolve any and all association, Folk Bitch Trio invoke a greater sense of delight and whimsy through their dulcet yet honest storytelling. They even weave humour into a lyrical tapestry that sways between playful and provocative, yet still occasionally meandering through more pensive territory. We are treated to tales of bitter breakups and unrequited love, even lewd fantasies, yet all are played out through charmingly saccharine vocal lines that often belie the open and sporadically daring lyricism on display – ‘Afternoon fuck and then a fight’, anyone?
Of course, lyrics count for little without worthy delivery, and the impeccable use of close harmonies across the album is a standout feature of allure. Every member of the band provides their own distinctive character of voice – each one enjoyable in and of itself, made easier thanks to mixing that renders each set of pipes discernible – but when combined they are just phenomenal. A cappella track “I’ll Find A Way” is a prime opportunity to hear this for yourself in its true glory, but the trio’s tightly knit vocal prowess is smeared across the record’s entirety, shimmering amongst the instrumentation while also stealing the spotlight many a time.
That said, in much the same vein as songwriters like Alice Phoebe Lou and Hohnen Ford, the instrumentation on Now Would Be A Good Time is still captivating and plays an enormous part in the album’s appeal. Timeless yet modernised, the guitar-led soundscapes comprise both acoustic and electric string work, balancing minor and major combinations with sprinklings of what sound like seventh chords to inject quirkiness and uncertainty, much akin to life itself. At times the music is insular and close: the warm, robust, and rhythmic strums of the frank “That’s All She Wrote”, or “Moth Song” with its approaching strings, feel as though you are being embraced or perhaps protected. Elsewhere, the album also bears tunes like “Sarah” and “Cathode Ray”, which feel expansive, as if venturing out into and beyond an open field beneath stars. “Foreign Bird” equally soars with reverberating atmospheric guitar, opening up amidst restrained percussion like it’s airing out closely guarded emotions. Percussion is not necessarily sparse across the record, but is deployed modestly, with many of the ten songs carried effortlessly by the guitar work and melodious synonymy of three sultry singing voices in (literal) perfect harmony.
Now Would Be A Good Time speaks in bright three-part harmonies of an equally glistening future for Folk Bitch Trio. Youthful and exuberant it may be, but there’s also a healthy and contemplative maturity to be found within the gorgeous vocals and ebbing musicianship on display here. However, rather than wallow or sink into the overly serious depths associated with the folk genre, these three bid you break beyond it to embrace the multitudes that life still has to offer when the things we savoured so sweetly leave a sour taste in our mouths. If nothing else, consider the album’s title as good advice on how soon you should check out Folk Bitch Trio.
