The Acorn

Spawned in the fertile swampland of Canada’s national capital, The Acorn has been creating experimental folk and music since early 2004. The project was initially the brain/lovechild of Rolf Klausener, who composed a series of gorgeous electro-acoustic folk tunes under the name. However, when his interest in bedroom electronics waned, Klausener decided to surround himself with a group of short to medium-sized musicians: Jeffrey, Howie and Jeff, who Voltron-like turned The Acorn into a full band concern. In July 2004, they released a lush, mostly instrumental tribute to the idyllic and vowel-heavy Outaouais region, called The Pink Ghosts. And in the fall of 2005, they released the Blankets! EP, a more melodically focused effort, which garnered them glowing praise from dozens of music blogs, the CBC, Exclaim! Magazine, as well as a top 50 spot on Canada’s National Campus charts.

The Acorn’s newest offering, Tin Fist, runs a wide stylistic gamut from folksy to jubilant. These 6 songs exhibit an unslaked thirst for new sounds, interlocking guitarmonies, vocal harmonies that soar and/or coo, and song structures that oscillate between the understated and the unexpected. Thematically, lyrics weave effortlessly between private introspection and public concerns. Joining The Acorn on this recording and on the road as a new official member is keyboardist Keiko Devaux (Montreal’s People for Audio, Storyboard Label), who brings a wealth of musicality to the band, adding organs, piano and marimba to the band’s varied and engaging live show.