Being that we’ve reached the year 2016 in one piece (albeit if Trump has any say in the matter, things will surely crumble), it may be safe to take a brief, retrospective look at which genres were resuscitated into prominence and which ones fell from popular grace. The twenty-teens saw alternative folk enter into the zeitgeist, with Bon Iver, Mumford and Sons, and Fleet Foxes riding the wave early, before either adapting masterfully (Bon Iver), shifting genre (Mumford), or going on extended hiatus (Fleet Foxes).
Due in large part to the aforementioned bands, alternative folk opened the door for all iterations of folk music to be explored freely, a la the days of Nick Drake, Joan Baez, and Gordon Lightfoot. While genre expansions such as freak folk were fun, they came and passed with relative brevity, but as more pop and rock leaning folk emphases became passé, real roots revival folk continued to strengthen its base.
Today’s purer forms of folk are preserved by the likes of Ryley Walker, Punch Brothers, and Glen Hansard; all receiving credit where its due, but they’re obviously an all male contingency. Folk music has been a fascinating field of unidentified female talent quietly building their repertoire, with many getting the occasional glance here and there, but nowhere near the measure of fanfare a Taylor Swift or Ariana Grande may receive.
Enter Aofie O’Donovan, the Massaschusetts born folk singer formerly of Crooked Still – a pensive and familiar voice that recalls the days of yore, who ascends into contemporary folk prominence on her recently released, In the Magic Hour.
The sophomore full length release on O’Donovan’s solo discography, In the Magic Hour is equal parts quiet wretchedness and subtle charm; an overall reflection on the transcendence of time. Opener “Stanley Park” wastes no time establishing the somber nature of the record as a whole, with its idiomatic lines such as – “songbirds fly and dead is falling / I sleep to the beating of their wings” – that paint a bleak pastoral picture.
In the Magic Hour was written on the tail end of extensive touring for O’Donovan’s debut album, Fossils, in which she spent the majority of her time on the road alone, which allowed for deep introspection of lyrics. Unfortunately, the writing period for the album coincided with the death of O’Donovan’s grandfather, the Irish family patriarch, whose home in Clonakilty, Ireland became a harbor of untroubled merriment.
Following the death of O’Donovan’s grandfather, who the singer references directly in “Magic Hour,” the deep solitude that enveloped O’Donovan’s writing became the cornerstone for the album. That being said, In the Magic Hour is a disparate vehicle of coping – while the subject matter can be mostly pastoral and personal, songs are hopeful, such as “Porch Light,” or “Magpie,” with its solitary journey of reflection – the song was written about her deceased grandfather.
Folk music is bound to shift and fall victim to various trends in music, but despite whatever there is that is “en vogue,” Aofie O’Donovan will surely remain a pillar of classic folk sensibilities. In the Magic Hour is effectively a combination of O’Donovan’s penchant for seclusion and her brief moments of hopeful certainty. O’Donovan’s music searches for something of stirring substance, and in doing so, solidifies herself as a durable and formidable chieftain of folk music.