Tiny Vipers

[August 29th, 2007] [FREAK FOLK] Jesy Fortino, whose voice falls smack in the middle of two disparate freak-folk singers (ex-Portlander Alela Diane and the baby-voiced Joanna Newsom), is proof that we’re living in a musical golden age. The singer-songwriter easily assumes the kind of name usually reserved for sloppy punk outfits (Tiny Vipers), and she’s gained an honest-to-God following on the strength of her oft-macabre songwriting and curious delivery alone. No gimmick, no pyrotechnics display, just meditative acoustic guitar and that lovely serrated voice.

Ten years ago, it took singer-songwriters like Fortino a decade to gain a following (imagine, she’d be a haggard old woman, her voice torn by whisky and the detriments of that bitch-goddess called success). But today, a couple of Pitchfork mentions and a strong debut, this year’s Hands Across the Void EP, is enough to make Tiny Vipers (a Sub Pop discovery) your new favorite wrist-slitting music. Such are the wonders of the Internet age!