What I like about Fanfarlo is that it sounds like a lot of music I also like. Beirut, which formed about the same time in 2006, comes to mind when I hear the vocals of Fanfarlo's band leader Simon Balthazar. Arcade Fire's arrangements ring a chord after a refreshing listen to both bands back-to-back. Devotchka, the veteran 4-piece rock orchestra from Denver, comes to mind as well, being the big bro of the bunch at 12 years old. All four of these bands bring a worldly feel to indie folk music by marrying a huge variety of tools like saws, accordions, saxophones, pianos, glockenspiels and mandolins.
Now, I'm not saying Fanfarlo has ripped off anybody (maybe they're the ones being ripped off), but that great music might be worth ripping off... just a little bit. Ask Girl Talk. I mean, who can blame all these copycats or parallel evolutions or whatever you want to call this? It's a tremendous sound!
Along with these other bands, Fanfarlo is helping to popularize playing with Earthly delights like klezmer, bolero, Balkan folk, American roots music and other goodies by blending them into one big dreamy sound. What happens when you get enough people together making similar noise for extended periods of time? A genre is born. Hell yes.
