You Must Hear 7

new weird america

Last updated: Wed Oct 29 2025 20:45:49 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Description

New Weird America is a folk-influenced indie movement from the early 2000s that blends traditional acoustic instruments with experimental, lo-fi production and unconventional song structures. The genre emerged as a countercultural response to mainstream music, drawing on American folk traditions while incorporating psychedelic, avant-garde, and DIY aesthetic sensibilities. Its sound is characterized by intimate vocals, eclectic instrumentation, and a deliberately rough or homemade quality that emphasizes authenticity over polish.

100 chronological releases

Place	Cover	Date	Artist	Album	Tags	Other places
96		1970	Vashti Bunyan	Just Another Diamond Day	folk	american # 1 folk # 25 freak folk # 71 chamber folk # 75 sadcore # 94
65		1990-01	Sun City Girls	Torch of the Mystics	experimental rock post-punk	experimental rock # 53
17		1992	Mark Heard	Satellite Sky	8-bit adult contemporary alternative american americana argentina australian bagpipes blue-eyed soul breakcore british canada chamber pop chiptune christian christian rock classic rock dance dance-pop deep house dream pop dubstep electro electropop emo eurodance folk french german glam rock gospel greek grime grindcore hardcore house humour lo-fi mashup metal new age new jack swing new wave new weird america new zealand nintendocore noise pagan pop post-punk rap rock rockabilly russian scottish ska space rock spoken word swedish techno trance	new zealand # 7 new jack swing # 21 pagan # 22 nintendocore # 29 bagpipes # 75
94		1996-09-10	Cat Power	What Would the Community Think	female vocalists alternative indie rock alternative rock indie pop pop rock	freak folk # 67 sadcore # 93
79		2000-02-21	Jackie-O Motherfucker	Fig. 5	new weird america rock
10		2000-04-17	Elliott Smith	Figure 8	singer-songwriter	sadcore # 18 singer-songwriter # 83
32		2001	Pope John Paul III	pope john paul the third	acid folk acoustic comedian comedy cyberpunk electronic electronica exotica freak folk grunge humour new weird america parody psychedelic folk	humour # 22 parody # 37 exotica # 46 comedian # 54 acid folk # 87
81		2002	Joanna Newsom	Walnut Whales	folk female vocalists harp	harp # 98
31		2002-02-19	Six Organs of Admittance	Dark Noontide	folk psychedelic folk	freak folk # 2 psychedelic folk # 51
71		2002-08-21	Devendra Banhart	The Charles C. Leary	folk freak folk	freak folk # 50
55		2003	Christina Antipa	Goodbye Different Oceans	acoustic alternative indie rock indie folk female vocalists folk folk rock singer-songwriter alt-country americana blues country freak folk indie pop american alternative rock pop rock sadcore new weird america	chamber folk # 21 freak folk # 25 folk noir # 62 sadcore # 65 alternative folk # 72
63		2003	Pelt	Pearls from the River	drone new weird america
36		2003-01-01	Sore Eros	beko_10	america american american underground experimental indie freak folk lo-fi new weird america singer-songwriter usa	america # 56 american underground # 67 experimental indie # 84
60		2003-03-04	Entrance	The Kingdom of Heaven Must Be Taken By Storm!	american blues freak folk male vocalists new weird america singer-songwriter	freak folk # 5
70		2003-03-04	Entrance	The Kingdom of Heaven Must Be Taken by Storm	american blues freak folk male vocalists new weird america singer-songwriter	freak folk # 21
78		2003-06-17	Animal Collective	Here Comes the Indian	freak folk experimental rock	psychedelic folk # 52 experimental rock # 77 freak folk # 87
47		2004	Tara Jane O'Neil	Bones	folk singer-songwriter acoustic female vocalists alt-country alternative alternative rock american americana blues country folk rock freak folk indie folk indie pop indie rock new weird america sadcore pop rock	sadcore # 49
50		2004-02-24	Faun Fables	Family Album	folk freak folk new weird america psychedelic folk
67		2004-03-08	Jack Rose	Two Originals Of...	emd folk freak folk new weird america	freak folk # 17 emd # 92
90		2004-03-09	CocoRosie	La maison de mon rêve	folk	freak folk # 58
38		2004-04-01	Devendra Banhart	The Golden Apples of The Sun	folk new weird america
44		2004-05-03	Animal Collective	Sung Tongs	freak folk	avant-folk # 46 psychedelic folk # 54 freak folk # 99
91		2004-05-04	Mirah	C'mon Miracle	female vocalists indie pop indie rock rock alternative alternative rock pop	freak folk # 61 sadcore # 89
76		2004-05-10	Vetiver	Vetiver	folk
20		2004-05-17	Adem	These Are Your Friends	new weird america
92		2004-05-18	White Magic	Through The Sun Door	folk new weird america
28		2004-08-09	Ella Guru	The First Album	new weird america
8		2004-08-17	Little Wings	Magic Wand	acoustic alt-country alternative blues country folk folk rock indie pop indie rock singer-songwriter alternative folk americana chamber folk folk noir freak folk indie folk lo-fi slowcore alternative rock	freak folk # 38 chamber folk # 54 alternative country # 61 sadcore # 67 alternative folk # 92 folk noir # 93
68		2004-09-07	Julie Doiron	Goodnight Nobody	alternative female vocalists alternative rock indie pop indie rock folk pop rock acoustic singer-songwriter alt-country american americana blues country folk rock freak folk indie folk new weird america sadcore	freak folk # 18 alternative country # 60 sadcore # 73 folk noir # 75 alternative folk # 80
99		2004-09-28	Panda Bear	Young Prayer	acoustic new weird america
80		2004-11	Gang Gang Dance	Hillulah	electronic neo-psychedelia new weird america
85		2005	Vetiver	Between	alt-country americana folk freak folk new weird america	freak folk # 40
86		2005	Devendra Banhart	Crippled Crow	folk	folk # 32
13		2005	Nick Castro	Further From Grace	new weird america
88		2005-01-24	Six Organs of Admittance	School of the Flower	folk	freak folk # 54
83		2005-02-01	The Skygreen Leopards	Life & Love in Sparrow's Meadow	new weird america
57		2005-07-28	Raccoo-oo-oon	Is Night People	drone rock experimental rock neo-psychedelia new weird america post-rock space rock	drone rock # 88
43		2005-09-01	Giant Skyflower Band	Blood Of The Sunworm	folk rock new weird america psychedelic rock
46		2005-09-13	CocoRosie	Noah's Ark	female vocalists	female vocalists # 19 freak folk # 78
75		2005-09-13	Devendra Banhart	Cripple Crow	folk
40		2005-10-14	Animal Collective	Feels	freak folk	psychedelic pop # 32 neo-psychedelia # 81 psychedelic folk # 85 freak folk # 100
73		2005-10-25	Jana Hunter	Blank Unstaring Heirs of Doom	folk
6		2006	USAISAMONSTER	Sunset At the End of the Industrial Age	alternative apocalyptic folk math rock neofolk new weird america
52		2006-04-04	Travel by Sea	Shadows Rise	alt-country indie folk new weird america
89		2006-04-19	Flowers From the Man Who Shot Your Cousin	Hapless	folk singer-songwriter acoustic alt-country indie folk americana new weird america country lo-fi vancouver	france # 15 alternative folk # 43 canada # 70 strings # 79 vancouver # 100
72		2006-04-21	Josephine Foster	A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing	female vocalists new weird america singer-songwriter
82		2006-05-23	Vetiver	To Find Me Gone	folk
95		2006-06-13	Regina Spektor	Begin to Hope	female vocalists singer-songwriter	american # 17 freak folk # 65 singer-songwriter # 76 female vocalists # 89 sadcore # 91 anti-folk # 93
97		2006-06-20	Brightblack Morning Light	Brightblack Morning Light	new weird america
22		2006-08-09	e.p. hall	The Edge the Middle	folk new weird america
98		2006-09-25	Akron/Family	Meek Warrior	new weird america
2		2006-10-24	Norfolk & Western	The Unsung Colony	folk acoustic alt-country alternative americana blues country folk rock freak folk indie folk indie pop indie rock singer-songwriter alternative folk chamber folk folk noir lo-fi slowcore	freak folk # 19 alternative country # 30 chamber folk # 33 sadcore # 37 folk noir # 74 alternative folk # 78
53		2006-11-14	White Magic	Dat Rosa Mel Apibus	folk freak folk new weird america
42		2006-11-30	John Most	Persephone	poetry spoken word	spoken word # 20 diy # 36 new york city # 47 poetry # 78
12		2007	Tinyfolk	Bill	acoustic diy folk lo-fi new weird america	diy # 42
35		2007	CocoRosie	Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn	alternative freak folk	freak folk # 96
5		2007-02-05	Rio En Medio	Perfect As Cats: A Tribute to The Cure	female vocalists folk freak folk new weird america singer-songwriter
21		2007-02-05	Rio En Medio	Bride of Dynamite	folk
18		2007-02-13	Rio En Medio	The Bride of Dynamite	folk
61		2007-04-23	Feist	The Reminder	female vocalists indie pop indie rock pop alternative rock	freak folk # 6 indie pop # 69 sadcore # 70 female vocalists # 81
64		2007-06-17	June Madrona	A Long And Ugly Road (European edition)	folk acoustic alternative indie pop lo-fi new weird america singer-songwriter pop indie folk americana	strings # 2 flute # 18 alternative folk # 25 seattle # 28 harp # 51 banjo # 74 clarinet # 81 washington # 85
7		2007-09-03	Animal Collective	Strawberry Jam	psychedelic pop electronic neo-psychedelia	sunshine pop # 6 noise pop # 9 experimental pop # 30 psychedelic pop # 87 neo-psychedelia # 88 freak folk # 91
39		2008	M. Ward	Transfiguration of Vincent	folk singer-songwriter	chamber folk # 13 sadcore # 36 alternative country # 41 folk noir # 46 banjo # 50 alternative folk # 61
45		2008	June Madrona	The Winged Life (European edition)	folk acoustic chamber pop alternative blues country indie folk indie rock lo-fi singer-songwriter slowcore american americana folk rock freak folk new weird america indie pop male vocalists alternative rock alternative country	folk noir # 9 alternative country # 15 strings # 19 sadcore # 29 alternative folk # 48 washington # 70
54		2008	Megapuss	Megapuss	folk freak folk new weird america
58		2008	Pocahaunted	Beast That You Are	ambient new weird america
29		2008-07-01	John Most	Atelier	spoken word poetry	spoken word # 1 diy # 10 poetry # 51
100		2008-07-21	Sun Araw	Beach Head	dub neo-psychedelia new weird america	neo-psychedelia # 19 dub # 84
93		2008-09-09	Megapuss	Surfing	freak folk new weird america psychedelic folk	psychedelic folk # 56 freak folk # 63
26		2008-10-20	Our Brother the Native	Parting Marrows EP	folk new weird america post-rock
34		2009	Totally Nebular	Boat Boat	america american american underground avant-folk avant-pop diy electronic experimental folk experimental indie freak folk lo-fi new weird america usa	avant-pop # 19 america # 54 american underground # 66 diy # 71 experimental indie # 83 experimental folk # 92
51		2009	Jackie-O Motherfucker	Ballads Of The Revolution	new weird america post-rock space rock revival	space rock revival # 74
9		2009	MV & EE	Root/Void	folk rock new weird america psychedelic rock
69		2009	Various Artists	The Late, Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered
74		2009-11-03	Jookabox	Dead Zone Boys	indie rock new weird america
11		2010	Velvet Davenport	Happy Ending - CD [SHDWPLY]	america american underground avant-folk baroque pop indie folk minneapolis new weird america psychedelic folk psychedelic pop sunshine pop usa	sunshine pop # 11 america # 20 american underground # 53 minneapolis # 84
16		2010	Erutan	Tarts	acoustic alternative ambient americana avant-pop british cabaret chillout china classical dance dark ambient dark folk darkwave dream pop electronic electronica ethereal ethnic eurobeat female vocalists folk folktronica gothic metal greek indie pop jazz metal moscow neoclassical neofolk nerdcore new age new weird america poetry pop power metal reggae shoegaze soundtrack symphonic metal synthpop world world fusion	avant-pop # 1 nerdcore # 20 eurobeat # 56 china # 66 moscow # 68
30		2010	MV & EE	Country Stash	folk new weird america psychedelic rock
33		2010-04-30	Yuni in Taxco	Yuni In Taxco EP	alternative dream folk indie folk new weird america rock seattle sunshine pop	sunshine pop # 29 dream folk # 64
25		2010-06-24	Eric Copeland	Strange Days	new weird america
23		2010-11-09	Tree Hopping	The Beat Band	electronic new weird america
87		2011-04-26	Javelin	Canyon Candy	alt-country new weird america
66		2011-05-30	Orion Rigel Dommisse	Chickens	chamber folk freak folk new weird america	freak folk # 16 chamber folk # 39
49		2011-06-03	George Ellias	EP	folk indie folk new weird america
19		2011-11-15	Goldmund	All Will Prosper	ambient folk	dream folk # 53
27		2012-03-05	Julia Holter	Ekstasis	art pop	ambient pop # 30
37		2012-03-26	Soan	Sous les yeux de Sophie	dream folk folk folk noir folk rock freak folk indie folk new weird america singer-songwriter	folk noir # 42 dream folk # 68
41		2013	Larkin Grimm	Soul Retrieval	new weird america
4		2013-06-11	Cough Cool	beko_21	america american american underground avant-pop avant-rock experimental pop new weird america usa	america # 7 american underground # 49 avant-rock # 52
1		2013-09-17	Alligator Indian	More Songs About Animals and TV	alternative alternative pop america american american underground art pop avant-pop duo electronic electronic pop experimental indie experimental pop neo-psychedelia new weird america north carolina psychedelic pop usa	duo # 1 america # 5 electronic pop # 42 american underground # 47 experimental indie # 72 north carolina # 85
24		2014-02-18	Alexz Johnson	Weight	alternative ambient art pop baroque baroque pop chillout ethereal folk folk pop indie pop new wave new weird america
56		2014-11-17	Ariel Pink	pom pom	hypnagogic pop	psychedelic pop # 16 hypnagogic pop # 91
84		2016	Devendra Banhart	New Unreleased Songs	folk new weird america
77		2018-11-02	Dead Can Dance	Dionysus	neoclassical darkwave world world fusion	folktronica # 10 dark folk # 57 nerdcore # 76 poetry # 77 poptron # 85 ethnic # 85 tribal # 88 eurobeat # 93 moscow # 94 world # 94 neoclassical darkwave # 96 china # 98 ethnic fusion # 99 neomedieval # 99 world fusion # 100
59		2023	Various Artists	The Golden Apples of the Sun	new weird america
48		2023-04-28	Bill Orcutt	Bill Orcutt	new weird america
3			Mike Garlington	Pope Culture!	acid folk acoustic electronica freak folk grunge humour new weird america psychedelic folk san francisco	san francisco # 27 acid folk # 75
14			the Traveling Misanthrope Circus of Lunacy	this is bad for the children. (better dead than red)	acid folk acoustic comedian comedy cyberpunk electronica exotica freak folk grunge humour math rock new weird america parody psychedelic folk	parody # 11 exotica # 11 comedian # 17 acid folk # 80
15			The Gomorran Social Aid and Pleasure Club	outtakes and oddities	folk gospel new weird america post-rock progressive rock psychedelic folk san francisco	san francisco # 40
62			The Pink Mountaintops	Axis Of Evil	new weird america

Related genres

• freak folk
• folk
• alternative
• american
• lo-fi
• indie folk
• electronic
• noise
• singer-songwriter
• usa