The music of Folk Bitch Trio is timeless. Put on Now Would Be a Good Time, their debut album, close your eyes, forget your surroundings, and be transported. These tracks could be the work of a solemn Greenwich Village group of the early ’60s; they could be coming out of a coffee shop’s speakers at the turn of the 2010s, when indie folk experienced a critical and commercial revival; and these tracks certainly also fit our present day, when Boygenius and Julia Jacklin and Angie McMahon are beloved stars.
Indeed, Boygenius’ own Phoebe Bridgers recognised the timelessness of Folk Bitch Trio, hailing them as “Boygenius if it was from the ’40s or something.”
The musicianship of Folk Bitch Trio — the impeccable harmonies and soothing vocals — is timeless, but the songwriting is decidedly modern: their lyrics are infused with youthful vigour, beset by anxieties, and not lacking in wicked humour.
What marks Folk Bitch Trio’s music out as truly special, though, is not its timeless essence, or its relatable songwriting, but the connection powering their intimate arrangements.
Gracie Sinclair, Jeanie Pilkington, and Heide Peverelle met in high school in Naarm / Melbourne, started singing together five years ago, and haven’t looked back since. “The chemistry of being inspired by each other was evident from the get-go,” as Sinclair says. Oftentimes it sounds like they’re singing solely to each other on Now Would Be a Good Time, sharing secrets and stories, locked in their own world.
In their Rolling Stone AU/NZ In My Room session, Folk Bitch Trio’s intimacy is fully on show: they recorded in a hotel room, while on tour, just the three of them perched on the edge of the bed with one acoustic guitar at hand; there’s no need to be ostentatious when your delicate harmonies sound like that.
Watch the indie folk group’s full session in the player above.
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Following a lengthy run of shows around the US, UK, and Europe, Folk Bitch Trio are back on home soil, and fans in Australia and New Zealand now have the chance to hear their gorgeous indie folk up close.
Their ANZ tour heads to Meanjin/Brisbane on Friday, September 19th, followed by shows in Eora / Sydney, Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland, Pōneke / Wellington, and Ōhinehou / Lyttelton (ticket information here).
Folk Bitch Trio’s Now Would Be a Good Time is out now via Jagjaguwar.
