I’ve been listening to Florist and Madi Diaz and wondering how it is that we decide whether VERY stripped down acoustic songwriter music is good or not. I mean, we do, but what are the criteria? Especially if it doesn’t sweep you up and carry you away.
This is the one context that lyrics are very important to me. When there’s a lot going on musically the words become just sounds or, at most, isolated images. When it’s just the voice and simple instrumentation, storytelling and/or poetic soul bearing becomes more necessary and valuable for me.
For me, when it’s that stripped down the vocals are HUGE to me on whether or not I connect with it. And I don’t mean it has to be trained singer level good, but I have to vibe with. Also a lot of sneaky good guitarists in that genre. I really like Madi Diaz. Bedouine is another favorite.
I like Anna Tivel in this genre and it’s mostly because of the writing.
In the case of both of those artists, particularly Florist, I think they have very strong ears for melody. Sometimes it comes out more in live performance where they have to hold a crowd as opposed to being background music while cooking or whatever.
Could be
I think it's a combo of musicianship, whether they can write a good line, and the ability to deliver something interesting on record and in a live setting. Finding the balance is hard.