newmusicmonday #84:: Olenka & the Autumn Lovers

Genre	folk pop
Members	Olenka Krakus lead vocal, guitar Sara Froese violin, vocals Simon Larochette trumpet Daniel Mancini drums Kelly Wallraff cello, vocals
Base	London, ON, Canada
Label & Discography	Open House Recording Company [discography] And Now We Sing, October 2010 [zunior - w/previews] Papillonette EP, November 2008 [zunior -w/previews] eponymous "Olenka & the Autumn Lovers", November 2008 [zunior - w/previews] Warsaw Girl EP, April 2008

web	MySpace	Facebook	CBCr3	Twitter		last.fm

I've been mulling over this week's newmusicmonday for a few weeks now, listening to a bit on CBCr3 and coming back to it later. The band has an interesting sound that has an interesting range, from blue state/red riding {?} folk to what sounds like a new wave time machine to Eastern Europe in the 80s. The latter comes through in "Clean" with a hint of ska in the background. Listening to the twangy intro of "East End" makes you wonder if Olenka and company can pull off their folk pop Polish fusion, but it comes together and then some. Olenka's lyrics are serious in nature, drifting towards the melancholy, rife with vivid imagery that's often gritty. She's a great vocalist who managed to hold my interest from song to song, which isn't always an easy feat.

Here's "Odessa" with an Eastern European folksy feel, from a show last month at the Horseshoe::



Here's some straight blue state folk in the form of "Flash in the Pan" shot as part of the Live Near Bellwoods series, from a few days ago::




Twitterversion:: [blog+videos] #newmusicmonday featuring the London, ON folk pop of Olenka & the Autumn Lovers {@olenkalovers}  http://goo.gl/y8IZH  @Prof_K