With the folk genre being continuously divided into increasingly specific subgenres, it’s a breath of fresh air for a band like I Am Oak to show up out of the blue (read: Europe) with some engaging, first-rate classic sound . On their first album, On Claws, the Dutch band, headed by Thijs Kuijken and supported by various others in live performances, does everything that a good folk band should; the album swings from mood to mood with little warning, from brooding sorrow to frolicking apathy, to endearing honesty and back again, all the while maintaining a unified, mellow quality through gentle, hummable melodies and understated guitar and banjo. It might take a couple of thorough listens to get hooked, but once you realize the delicate power contained in songs like “Hearth” and “Storm,” it’s hard to not want to follow Thijs Kuijken and friends on the rest of what hopefully will be a long and successful career.

“Trees and Birds and Fire” is one of the longer, and more satisfying tracks; while its start is curiously similar to that of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros’ “Carries On,” it quickly picks up its own character through wistful lyrics in which different aspects of nature are addressed as long-lost friends over an ambling banjo and tiptoeing flute. The kind of blasé, whimsical attitude displayed in the song is practically explained by the singer himself in “Wolves In The Yard,” in which he sings that “I write whatever comes to mind.” Though I Am Oak often verge on the apathetic, their inclusions of thoughtful moments and touches in each song show that their more relaxed qualities are definitely not a result of laziness, and also that they’re well aware of how they sound to others.

On “Hearth,” shadowy reflections on aging and decay sidle up alongside playfully melodic guitar and banjo lines, culminating in a lo-fi folk song that is fanciful in exactly the right places. The supreme moodiness that I Am Oak harness in their work is tangible here, especially when considering the differences between chirpy-sounding, dark lines like “grape, oh grape/ steadily you’ll go from grape to raisin,” and the head-in-the-clouds synesthesia moments that envelope the song’s more melancholy parts. The harmonizing that goes on in this song and several others is near-perfect, in that it is subtle, thoughtful and never distracting from the equally interesting sounds that are coming from behind it. Though the following “Trumpets,” disappoints in its inability to channel that same childlike, emotional mutability that shows up on much of the rest of the album, the beautiful “On Talons” is a potent minute and a half of straight-up folk bliss, with weary, woozy accordion breathing in and out behind lovely, hesitant vocals.

Had I Am Oak considered cutting out a few of the lazier, less interesting tracks such as “Low And Behold” and “Murmur,” On Claws might have proven an instantly classic contemporary folk album with all of its dark enchantments and subtle perfections. Unexpected moments of gloominess appearing in songs like “Under Sun” and “On Oxen” allow for the band to astutely latch on to the classic, sad-but-not-depressing tone of older folk music, and the results are resoundingly beautiful. The best example of this might be the truly haunting “Storm,” which opens with a pleasant weariness, with understated vocals bringing in lines like “breathing comes from/choking out our lungs.” The song slowly rises to a climax with a simple banjo lines punctuated by unexpected touches like the dash of electric guitar that briefly appears and lends a pretty airiness to the song’s bitter reflections on aging, decay and letting go of the past. If there’s one song that best captures I Am Oak’s unique ability to sound nostalgic without coming off sticky-sweet, “Storm” is it.

Ultimately, perhaps the most interesting aspect of the album, and of I Am Oak in general, is the sense of self-awareness and honesty that frequently appears in their songs. Of course, as I’ve said, in a practical sense the album could definitely use some trimming. And yet, on the final track, “Clavicles,” Kuijken seems to anticipate that criticism and addresses it accordingly. When he sings that “I cut my songs where I shouldn’t have cut, cut my songs,” it’s hard not to identify with artists that can’t bear to part with the pieces that they’ve put so much heart and effort into creating. And that’s understandable, because to be sure, even the weak songs on the album have shining moments that make it possible to understand why they wouldn’t just be thrown away entirely. Though making the album shorter would have made it more immediately impressive, the endearing honesty put forth here and there in songs such as “Clavicle” make you supremely thankful that I Am Oak went with their urge to “let it all appear in the morning.”

Track List:
1. We Are Sound
2. On Trees and Birds and Fire
3. Wolves in the Yard
4. Don’t I Know Enough
5. Hearth
6. Trumpets
7. On Talons
8. Lo and Behold
9. Under Sun
10. On Oxen
11. Storm
12. Murmur
13. On Crests
14. Clavicles