Rising Stars: Folk

The times, you might say, are a-changin’ — the bold, new balladeers of folk may know their history, but they're coming from an entirely different angle than their forebears . . . so while 2010’s “Rambling Man,” an original composition by the U.K.’s Laura Marling, might forge an associative mental link with the Hank Williams tune, it’s a unique meditation on identity and pride, bolstered by the production flourishes of Ethan Johns (of Ryan Adams/Kings of Leon repute). And where there’s a thin line of folk heritage connecting harpist Joanna Newsom’s “Good Intentions Paving Company” to the past, the beguiling track still breaks much new ground.

The rising stars of folk a make for a mixed bag, in Next Steps.

The bright new folkies are a motley crew, producing all kinds of variations on the sound, from the genre-dismantling musings of indie-rocker Kurt Vile, who used to favor heavy doses of static but has recently explored acoustic byways — check out the title track from 2011’s Smoke Ring for My Halo — to the daughter of Loudon Wainwright III and Suzzy Roche, Lucy Wainwright Roche, whose soft-but-insistent croon on “Once In” laces its seductive power with wistful sweetness. And who’s that young fella on the five-string banjo, picking a nimble path through “The Crow”: why, that’s movie star Steve Martin making a huge impression as a GRAMMY®-winning folk artist.

Arm yourself with some Welsh, and try some folkified punk, in Deep Cuts.

One of the basic components that make the folk engine run is storytelling, the kind that digs deep. Today's tale-spinners' toolbox holds not only a way with words, but also a full-color map of the human soul. You can hear it on Tethered for the Storm, the second album by the Gentle Good, even if your grasp of Welsh is not quite up to par — “Llosgi Pontydd” still casts a mellifluous and powerful spell. Quite different in tone is the Bad Shepherds’ cover of the Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy In the UK” from 2010’s By Hook or By Crook, but don’t expect a straight-up comic pastiche: the solemn, brooding treatment of the punk anthem is loaded with gravitas.

If you think the most important part of the folk music story lies in the past, check out today's fastest-rising folk artists and have your head turned right around. The finely wrought melodies and thoughtful lyrics that have always been part of the folk world stand out as strong as ever in the songs of its hottest modern torchbearers. The strands of so many other styles find their way into today's folk sounds that it can be tough to keep track, so here's where you can hone in on the latest developments. From the explosive acoustic energy of England’s Mumford & Sons (“Little Lion Man”) to the sublime vocal tapestries of Seattle-based Fleet Foxes (“Helplessness Blues”), from Abigail Washburn to William Fitzsimmons, this is the place to put your finger on the pulse of folk as it's heard in the here-and-now.