Klicking, ticking, strumming and picking

I don't know what it is about 'folktronica' (ugly term), 'future folk' (less ugly, more stupid) or 'laptop folk' (totally demeaning) but sometimes I really seem to need a fix of it. Ever since David Kitt's 2001 modest masterpiece 'The Big Romance' with it's beats, repeats and multiple electronic layers over romantic folk-ish songs I've been a fan of the genre and got curious with every release labeled with aforementioned ugly, stupid and demeaning terms. The problem is that there aren't that many artists in the genre and even fewer good ones (The Books, Four tet, Múm, The Album Leaf). 2003 saw Postal Service's incredibly succesful debut 'Give up' and some PS-lite's surfaced after that but the more harcore 'folktronica' (let's call PS 'poptronica' and say we didn't) releases are still few and far between. That's why I was thrilled to see a new Tunng album as well as a new Efterklang and a new Caribou release. But with the latter two having dropped most of their overt electronics from their sound that leaves me with just Tunng. Tunng has been making the kind of music that I need for three albums now. Little folksongs riddled with chirps, loops and sometimes surprising beats (like in 'Surprise me 44'). Clicking, ticking, strumming and picking their way through songs about girls, dead cats and spoons (I personally draw the line at girls). Their new album is called 'Good Arrows' and is totally satisfying.

From their debut 'Mother's Daughter and other songs': Tunng - Tale From Black (mp3)

From their sophomore 'Comments of the Inner Chorus', a song about a dead cat (I'm not ashamed to say I've cried): Tunng - Woodcat (mp3)

And their Bloc Party cover: Tunng - the pioneers (myspace)

Here is the video for their new single: Tunng - Bullets (video)