"Strangefolk" are part of an emerging sub-genre I'm starting to see creep across my desk. ("Box Set" and "Sweeter than Wine," to name just a couple.) It's built of bands striving to write and perform intelligent harmony driven songs, influenced by pop and folk music alike. The focus isn't necessarily on the hook, but on the quality of song writing, words as well as music. The result, when successful, isn't always hits, but it's a feast for the listener. More often than not, "Strangefolk" succeeds.

The band got its start when lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Reid Genauer, and Lead guitarist, backing vocalist, Jon Trafton started playing Burlington, Vermont clubs in 1991. The two met while attending college there. They were an acoustic duo, but Trafton was using echo and full distortion, giving them a different sort of sound, thus "Strangefolk." About a year later they asked Jon's childhood friend, Erik Glockler, to play bass for them. Luke Smith completed the band playing drums. "Weightless in Water," the band's first album for Mammoth Records, follows two self-produced albums, "Strangefolk in 1994, and "Lore" in 1995.

"Roads" is folky and funky at once, blending folk and seventies style rock on the order of "The Eagles." Genauer's voice reminds me a little of Jerry Garcia, but his focus is different from Garcia's. The song sets up three life stories, one of a man who sits alone in the kitchen preparing for work while his wife sleeps, another a story of an artist questioning the love of his girlfriend, and finally a farmer who looks on his family with pride each night. The song ends with a bang. "This is a song about lifestyles/ Decisions we make/ Roads that we abandon/ And others that we take."

"Whatever" expresses the frustration with communication that a relationship can bring. "I try to tell you what I'm thinking/ But it flies back in my face/ Words come out different, meanings are shifted/ And my intentions take new shape." Soft acoustic guitar leads into the soft vocal and a quirky quick guitar part. Harmony on the refrain is pleasant. The quirky guitar part seems to cause things to stall a bit, which plays nicely into the subject of the song. "All the Same" is really the first song that seems like it could be a single. The guitar intro drives the listener along smoothly into the vocal. Lyrics are vague, but still carry a message. It's about being jaded over life's repetition.

Even after just three songs, differences in writing style between the three writers become obvious. These are three very different writers all locked into the same band. Genauer writes stories, his songs are long and involved. Glockler's are short, leaning more toward pop. Trafton falls somewhere in between. Yet, their sound ties them all into a cohesive unit as a band and on the album.

"Valhalla" is the story of a large family and the differences each of the seven children possess. The song opens slowly, the notes coming faster until the vocal breaks in. It has a long guitar solo, which enhances the song. "Furnace" is even softer at the beginning, with it's controlled acoustic rhythms. A strong lead soon joins, and the opening lines give a good impression of where this one is going. "Often I have thoughts and dreams/ Lying silent on my tongue/ Better left unsung you say/ They'd probably have me hung. . ." Genauer's voice really cooks on the chorus of this one! Genauer and Trafton collaborated on the song, which bears a chunk of each of their styles. A long guitar solo clocks this one it at over seven minutes, but it's so good that the length isn't bothersome at all.

Glockler's second contribution, "Who I Am," begins with a great bass line. Drums come in next with keyboard and finally the two guitars. Vocals are distorted, intentionally, leaving the listener a bit divorced from the song. Glockler seems to mock, "If you don't know me by now/ You're never going to. . ." It's about a long-standing relationship broken when one partner comes to the realization she doesn't know her lover any more. His opinion is that she doesn't know herself. The song has few words, but they speak volumes.

Vocals start off "Westerly," a Genauer story song. The other instruments jump in quickly. I'm not sure what this one is about, but I like the closing lines, "It came to pass/ Eyes that lost their vision/ That learned to see/ Through sturdy intuition." Beginning with the line used for the album's title, "Elixir," isn't one of my favorites. It's not a bad song by any means, but many of the others outshine it. The lyrics are pretty intense, though. "Liquidate/ the solid state/ of order/ and of being/ and of everything/ you're seeing in your life. . ."

"Sad," another Glockler song, has a countryish sound to the music, but the vocal is definitely not. The song portrays the thoughts one has at year's end, the doubts, fears, losses and regrets we all can have. Fast fiddle music sets a new tone with "Otis," another Genauer/Trafton collaboration. This one is definitely down home, with leanings solidly in folk music. It's a fun song about an ordinary farmer type. It would definitely get you moving and tapping your foot played live.

Genauer, Trafton and Glockler all collaborate on "Oxbow," the most complex tune on the album. I can hear all of their styles in it, yet they all mesh well here. It's long as hell, ten and a half minutes full of guitar solos, changes and stunning lyrics. "Magazine is empty and its tired morning empty/ twisted music telling of an order not yet woke/ Speaking to the paper and its tired morning empty/ Ragged clothing lying on the floor from which it spoke. . ." I don't know what it means, but it has the feeling of a wizard's incantation. After a minute of silence the track continues; soft guitar plays seemingly in the distance, then fades off after two minutes.

More than half of "Weightless in Water" really stood out for me. Among my favorite songs were "Roads," "All the Same" and "Who I Am," but really, the whole album shines pretty well. This is a worthy effort by a bright new band.