<p>It’s a “vintage year for writerly U.S. bands,” <a href=”http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/aug/03/popandrock”>
<font color=”#800080″>reports the <i>Guardian</i>
</font>
</a>. Festival season is in full swing in the United Kingdom, where “<span lang=”EN”>a slew of witty, hyper-literate American groups [are providing] a much-needed corrective to Britain’s indie malaise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
<p>
<span lang=”EN”>Citing acts such as <a href=”/2008-04-04/arts/whys-everybody-hatin-on-vampire-weekend.aspx?blogid=32″ target=”_blank”>
<font color=”#800080″>Vampire Weekend</font>
</a>, the Hold Steady, the Mountain Goats, Fleet Foxes, and <a href=”/2008-5-13/arts/freedom-from-ickiness-with-david-berman.aspx?blogid=32″ target=”_blank”>
<font color=”#800080″>the poet-fronted Silver Jews</font>
</a>, music writer Ally Carnwath concedes they don’t represent a homogenous bookish scene. In their work, however, Carnwath recognizes a shared “sense of lyrical ambition and adventure,” and the writerly bent is coalescing into a golden moment for literary bands. Carnwath talks to <i>
<a href=”http://www.nplusonemag.com/” target=”_blank”>
<font color=”#800080″>n+1</font>
</a>
</i> co-editor Benjamin Kunkel, who points out that these days, rock ‘n’ roll is a genre with lifelong appeal–not just for youthful rebels–which puts “new pressure on lyrics to be meaningful and intelligent.”</span>
</p>
<p>
<span lang=”EN”>(Thanks, <a title=”bookforum” href=”http://bookforum.com/online/2674″ target=”_blank”>
<em>Bookforum</em>
</a>.)</span>
</p>
