Abbey Masonbrink uses her dusty Kansas landscape as the backdrop for a curious mesh of ideas and genres. The banjo plays a central role in Abbey’s music but she doesn’t create folk music in a traditional way. Instead, she transforms it using drums and her angular vocals into a mystical art pop. It is still grounded in its folk origins though, making it an unusual mix of ideas and sounds. To try and help anchor people – think what would Chelsea Wolfe make if she made an ethereal banjo pop album. Somewhere in that ballpark sits Abbey Masonbrink.
She’s released three singles ahead of her debut album ‘Rising’ which is due for release on the 17th May. I’ve chosen to showcase ‘Smoke Rising’ as it sells Abbey’s tonality and early morning fog approach to her sonic sound design perfectly. Other singles such as ‘Goodnight’ follow a similar style but are a little more rootsy. ‘Smoke Rising’ is far more unclassifiable and that’s why I find it a fascinating and satisfying listen.
Enjoy the music video for ‘Smoke Rising’ below as we peer out of a helicopter to survey our surroundings. The single is out now. For more information on Abbey Masonbrink, follow her on Bandcamp.
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