Last week, David Byrne — of Talking Heads fame — took to the Guardian newspaper to publish a somewhat controversial (well, at least on niche music websites) op-ed about the evils of Spotify. Byrne goes on to make some very valid points about the dire economic realities of Spotify, and similar services, like Pandora, in which he used the example of the artist David Lowery who was was only paid $16.89, after a song he wrote was played over 1 million times. He also noted that, for a band of four to each make minimum wage, it would take 236,549,020 plays. It is true, streaming is replacing how people listen to music. Why would anyone pay for music, when they could stream it for free?

The catch is no musician could live off streaming services’ payments alone, and if the artist can’t make money then they have no incentive to make great art. Not saying artists make great art for money, but having to work several jobs will obviously hamper artists who might otherwise be full-time creatives. But that isn’t the most interesting point of his op-ed.

The most interesting point in his op-ed is his remarks on the point of discovery. Pandora and Spotify both brag openly about helping artists be discovered — Spotify even has a discover page — but Byrne argues that the point of discovery usually happens by word of mouth, or from friend-to-friend. Byrne argues that when people find new bands on streaming services it is likely to be a very shallow experience and one that will rarely — if ever — result in that person purchasing an album.

I would have to agree with Mr. Byrne in this notion; I have yet to have a lasting experience with a band on Spotify or Pandora. Now I will use Spotify to listen to an artist that I have heard about from a friend, or from a website, but using Spotify alone has yet to make me truly “discover” a new artist I would be willing to spend money on.

But, this week I had an old-fashioned discovery moment; and it was such a rewarding moment. I got a simple message from my girlfriend that said, “you should look up ‘Advanced Falconry’ by Mutual Benfit.” Being the great boyfriend that I am (haha), I immediately went to listen to the song. It was beautiful and stirring, so I wanted to listen to the rest of the album. I first went to Spotify (the album did not exist there). I then went to iTunes (not there either). I searched online for the band’s Bandcamp and there it was! The sheer scarcity of this album sent me into panic, causing me to buy a vinyl copy and the mp3 download. But luckily I have no regrets from this rushed decision.

It turns out what I purchased on that island of a Bandcamp webpage was a freak-folk masterpiece. The only thing I can tell you about the band, Mutual Benefit, is that according to their official Facebook page they are from Boston — led by Jordan Lee — and describe themselves as “post-lunar buddha turds”. Yes…

But as I said this album is a freak-folk masterpiece. Freak-folk, a sub-genre of folk music that probably peaked in 2006, when Devendra Banhart was at his highest powers, and was the breeding ground for some of the bigger indie acts currently around, like Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear and Joanna Newsom, they all had their early beginnings in this genre. One of my favorite examples of this genre was a band called the Skygreen Leopards, whose album Disciples of California was very influential in my formative years and is still something I will listen to.

Love’s Crushing Diamond by Mutual Benefit begins with a cacophany of noise, which is a mixture of organs, wind chimes and drums, and sets the tone of the album. The album’s production gives you a high vantage point, almost as if the listener is taking in the music from a steep cliff, and the thick layers of ambient noise on the record act as a veil of smoke. The group’s sound is reminiscent of a hybridization of Yellow House era Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes and some of the extended instrumentation moments of Sufjan Stevens (see: Michigan). The album doesn’t necessarily lend itself to intimacy, but the lyrics break through the production to hit the listener poignantly in the face.

“oh to stare into the void / and see a friendly face / and find meaning in a word / in a moment of rare grace”

The album is brief — only lasting seven songs — making it just short enough not to cause fatigue, while also making the listener want to hear more. That is my main complaint with this album — I am not sure it is even long enough to warrant the label of being called an album, maybe it is more of an E.P. Standout tracks on the album are “Advanced Falconry” and “C.L. Rosarian”, which are the emotional high points of the album and possess the prettiest instrumentals, but every song on the album flows smoothly together, giving the album a feeling of a beautiful waltz — spinning and twirling in a calculated movement.

Ian Cohen, in his review of the song “Advanced Falconry”, said that Mutual Benefit gave him nostalgia for the years 2002-2004, when the act of sharing mixtapes was in steep decline and the lo-fi analog sound dominated indie culture — remember when Iron & Wine was everyone’s favorite group after Garden State? And I think that is exactly why I love this album so much. That whole freak-folk-lo-fi moment was always incredibly fascinating to me. This album would have been perfect then, and it still works in 2013. Much has been made of the revival of the emo-genre, maybe this is the start of the freak-folk revival.

Listen to Love Crushing’s Diamond by Mutual Benefit here.

And here’s a Freak-Folk playlists: