IMAGE: Brent Baldwin

[ALL-INCLUSIVE FOLK POP] The strain of folk-based music that currently has the indie music world under its sway operates at a bit of a remove from its audience. Either through high-concept themes or an air of preciousness, it’s music that keeps listeners at arm’s length. But the same cannot be said for Shoeshine Blue, the hushed yet powerful folk-pop group led by Portland singer-songwriter Michael Apinyakul. The band’s third album, Howl at the Wooden Moon, feels like it’s being played on a front porch, one where you’re encouraged to sit for a spell and simply listen, or to grab an instrument and join in.

It’s a mood reminiscent of the blues and gospel Apinyakul grew up listening to in his home state of Missouri, even if the songs on Howl bear little sonic resemblance to those influences. “Older blues is useful music,” the 33-year-old, bespectacled songwriter says between sips of whiskey at Southeast Portland’s Roadside Attraction. “It’s music that’s not for the benefit of the maker at all. It’s meant for other people to get ahold of.”

There is plenty for listeners to grab on Howl, thanks to lilting melodies that are reminiscent of early Leonard Cohen and richly poetic lyrics (“All of your borders fall to the guns of your lovers/ every soldier down/ wrapped in a wedding gown,” he sings on “Warm Champagne”) that Apinyakul says he tends to keep willfully ambiguous so as to stay inclusive. “People can fill their own experiences into the words,” he says.

Shoeshine Blue’s songs are shaded by some intoxicating vocal work provided by a variety of female voices, including permanent band members Shawn McLain and Ali Wesley, along with guests like Audie Darling and Exploration Team’s Becky Wolf. This company of singers and the ever-evolving lineup of band members (which these days includes local vets like drummer John Vecchiarelli) help expand the front-porch free-for-all feeling of Shoeshine Blue’s music, something that will only be amplified by the time the band takes the stage at Mississippi Studios to celebrate Howl’s release.

For Apinyakul, the expansion is a simple matter of taste. “I want to bring in as many people as I can get,” he says. “It feels kind of counterintuitive since we’re not really a big band, but I just want lots of singers, to give it a choirlike feel.”