Offa Rex's Retro British Folk Rock
British folk rock music ala Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention seems to be in the air lately. I’m hearing it in the forthcoming album, by Miranda Lee Richards, Existential Beast and in this project from Offa Rex a collaboration from singer-songwriter Olivia Chaney and The Decemberists. Both artists are steeped in folk traditions British and American and The Decemberists are adept at rocking that tradition out. They’re calling it a psychedelic folk record and this song certainly sounds like that with it’s harpsichord plucks redolent of Strawberry Alarm Clock and HP Lovecraft (the band). I think that’s a real harpsichord in the video. The name apparently comes from the English King Offa (r. 757–796), although looking it up led me to a reference about pseudo-Arabic. It’s produced by Tucker Martine (Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, Neko Case).
K