Akron/Family: Who are they? Even their name is confusing. Well, to put it in simple terms, they’re four guys who live in New York (but were raised in the countryside) with different levels of beard growth (ranging from none to lots). Together they make music that sounds like a lot more people were involved and they write so much of it that most of their recordings have never had an official release, the band just sell them at gigs themselves.

Essentially they are a folk group but only in that they draw influence from folk music from all around the world, in a similar way to Homelife but even more diverse (they aren’t afraid to sling some free jazz into the mix). Other sonic references you might spot along the way are Jeffrey Lewis, Broken Social Scene, The Hidden Cameras and Mali Music.

Meek Warrior is a massive mash of sounds that could have gone awfully wrong but the Akron/Family boys seem to know exactly what they’re doing and they pull off something that must be close to being official categorised as genius.

Label: Young God
Website: www.akronfamily.com
Release date: 25th September 2006

Tracklist:

1. Blessing Force
2. Gone Beyond
3. Meek Warrior
4. No Space In The Realm
5. Lightning Bolt Of Compassion
6. The Rider (Dolphin Song)
7. Love And Space