Woodpigeon/ Die Stadt Muzikanten

Woodpigeon
Die Stadt Muzikanten
(End of the Road Records)

It's sometimes argued that folk music (the way we see it) doesn't exist in the US, and that their version of folk music is actually country music. This band is from Canada so I'm not entirely sure if the same rules apply, but screw it - this is folk music (the way we see it) and it's absolutely majestic.
Like the sadly departed Welsh band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci having been given a massive budget, this record is finely in tune with naivety and a very specific feeling of wonder. Together with a piano and acoustic guitar-led orchestration, it serves them well; 'Redbeard' is a sad lament with a twinkle in its eye and a fiddles to illustrate, and it's the closest thing I've come to experiencing magic throughout this whole month of reviews.
For all my bleetings about folk music, the band aren't actually retro: the songs are strikingly original, filling up the room like the crackle of a warm fire.
I could go on to mention the forgiving grace of 'Morningside' or 'Duck Duck Goose', which feels like Madchester as performed by wise hobos. But there's really only one bottom line here; this is the best album to come out of Canada since Funeral.