Tag: alternative folk

Alternative/folk/pop duo Say-So comprised married couple Jim and Kim Thomas. They had actually been making music together for over a decade when their eponymous debut was released in 1997 for Organic Records. The album featured a fresh take on folksy, rootsy, alternative pop-rock that was ‘light’ enough to appeal to fans of CCM, yet unconventional enough to appeal to listeners with more alternative-leaning tastes. The band’s sound sat comfortably with artists like Sixpence None the Richer (especially their earlier material), Rich Young Ruler, and Five O’Clock People.… Continued →

This band has been around since the 90s, maybe even the late 80s, making brilliant folk/pop/rock/blues/adult alternative/whatever type music. They’re the sort of band that other musicians love to love. The core of the band is husband-wife duo Linford Detweiler on piano and Karin Bergquist on vocals. The rest of the band has been a revolving cast, and in the half-dozen times I’ve seen them live, roughly half of those have featured just the pair. They’ve always danced around the edge of whatever “Christian music” means, always dropping hints about their faith, but simultaneously distancing themselves from the industrial machinations of the Christian music industry.… Continued →

Alternative folk-pop trio Lies Damned Lies formed in Glasgow in the late 1980s. Alternately flirting with Scottish modern rock sounds (a la fellow Scots Simple Minds) or with literate folk stylings, the band had a lengthy career through the 1990s and into the 2000s, though they were fairly unknown this side of the pond. They were regulars at the UK’s Greenbelt Festival, and while their lyrics pointed to their Christian faith, several of their releases were on mainstream pop-rock record labels. “The Divine Image” comes to us from their 1993 full-length The Human Dress.… Continued →

This folk-punk band was formed as a sort of atypical worship band. Their purpose was to create “authentic church music devoid of hype.” Hailing from Pittsburgh, the band features members of Last Hope and Timbre, its roots firmly embedded in the punk scene. Their one and only album was self-released in 2010, but saw a digital re-release in 2019 via Zap Records (home of 2 Minute Minor, Voice of the Mysterons, October Bird of Death, and others). I reviewed the album in 2019, here, and really enjoyed it.… Continued →

I first heard Sixpence None the Richer while listening to a cassette demo in the Christian bookstore in 1993. They had me from the opening acoustic guitar riffs on “Field of Flowers,” the opening track from The Fatherless and the Widow. That album was fantastic, but even so, it was only a foretaste of what was to come. While the band are largely known for their romantic pop radio hit, “Kiss Me,” from their self-titled third album, many fans and critics alike are drawn to their sophomore album, This Beautiful Mess.… Continued →

The 90s comprised an amazing decade for alternative Christian music. We had metal, punk rock, emo, industrial, and out of left field we also had an amazing run of alternative-tinged folk rock. I was primarily a metalhead/hard alternative guy when I got hit by this amazing run of folk acts like Lost Dogs, Nicolas Giaconia, Acoustic Shack, and the UK’s own Eden Burning. While Eden Burning had been going in their native England for several years prior, their first US release was Vinegar and Brown Paper, for Storyville Records, a folk imprint of R.E.X.… Continued →