The three claim they didn't set out to be a folk group, or to make a folk record. They've failed. Invitation Songs is the best folk albums in years.

At its heart, folk music is a depressing genre of music. Over the years, folk's inherent darkness has been covered up by cheese and cheer, but for every lighthearted skiffle song there are countless ballads about murder, railway accidents or jilted love. (Leadbelly's In the Pine covers all three.)

Those gloomy undertones are all but lost in modern folk music. What was once a simple means for ordinary people to express their feelings more often comes out a self-parody or an over-orchestrated mess. Not all old folk music was better than current offerings, but it seems like the genre was more prone to bouts of genius than it is today.

Maybe it's the elements of plainness (both in the songwriting and the songwriter) that are missing today. And maybe it's that unfamiliarity with what's expected that makes Seattle's Cave Singers' debut, Invitation Songs so good.

The trio (comprised of Hint Hint frontman Pete Quirk, Pretty Girls Make Graves bassist Derek Fudesco and Cobra High percussionist Mary Lund) claim they didn't set out to be a folk group, or to make a folk record. They've failed. Invitation Songs is the best folk albums in years, and one of the better releases of 2007.

The band has an interesting sound. The vocals are nasally but distant, like a depressed Arlo Guthrie or a more serious Loudon Wainwright. While the vocals alone will impressed even the most snobbish folk aficionados, the rest of the instrumentation will win over anyone who lost faith in the genre. The guitar is fingerpicked and strummed in the classic style, but still comes of fresh. The same goes for the percussion, which is used sparingly to great effect.

This setup perfectly suits the ballad "Helen" and the southern gothic "New Monuments," but when the band picks up the tempo on "Dancing On Our Graves," they add more drums and a washboard to the equation to make a dark, yet upbeat number that sounds like something from a nighttime revival meeting or a totally insane southern barn dance. Most of the songs on the album, though, fit in the pleasant space between barnstormers and ballads. The songs aren't slow, but it'd be pretty hard to dance to them. Kind of like a more upbeat Iron and Wine or a less dramatic Bright Eyes.

For all its darkness, Invitation Songs is—no pun intended—an inviting record. This is where it has the most in common with truly great folk music. Almost anyone, who is a fan of almost anything will find something on this album to like. Sure, it's not truly classic folk, but in a genre that's hundreds of years old, who has time to be a purist? A | Gabe Bullard

RIYL: Iron and Wine, Bright Eyes, Andrew Bird

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