Old folk songs are undeniable classics but they’ve always been missing a little flair. In a collaboration between English singer and multi-instrumentalist Olivia Chaney and American indie rock band the Decemberists called Offa Rex, traditional British folk songs are being transformed into hardcore rock songs to jam to like their most recent release “Sheepcrook And Black Dog.”
The new song begins as a catchy rock track. and gets really interesting when a females soft vocals appear to contrast the aggressive instrumentals. This may not be the version a mother would want to sing to her kids at night, but people will surely want to dance to it. Check out the entire four and a half minute track below.
“Sheepcrook And Black Dog” comes from Offa Rex’s upcoming album entitled Queen of Hearts, set to be released a little later this month on July 14. Several other remixed folk songs have been released including “The Old Churchyard,” “The Blackleg Miner,” and title track “The Queen Of Hearts.”
Colin Meloy commented on the collaboration saying “A few years ago, I had a chance to hear a record by a fantastic artist, one Olivia Chaney. She made a record called The Longest River and I was so taken by it, particularly her arrangement of the old folk song “The False Bride.”
Make sure to be on the lookout for their upcoming album and the 11 tracks remixed for a rocker.