# Folx

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***Folx*** (stylized in [lowercase](/source/Lowercase)) is the second studio album by the Canadian music collective friends&, released independently through [Bandcamp](/source/Bandcamp) on February 17, 2026. It is a 112-track [maximalist](/source/Maximalism#Music) [concept album](/source/Concept_album), with lead member JC grame as well as journalists and critics identifying themes of the history of [folk music](/source/Folk_music), [shitpost culture](/source/Shitpost_culture), [anti-capitalism](/source/Anti-capitalism), [Marxism](/source/Marxism), [family](/source/Family), the [Internet](/source/Internet), [copyright law](/source/Copyright_law) and [sampling](/source/Sampling_(music)), the [autism](/source/Autism) spectrum, [corporate labor](/source/Wage_labour), the [economy of the United States](/source/Economy_of_the_United_States), [accelerationism](/source/Accelerationism), the life and work of [Mark Fisher](/source/Mark_Fisher), and the [Sonic the Hedgehog fandom](/source/Sonic_the_Hedgehog_fandom) in it. The album began conceptualization, composition, recording and production circa 2017 according to grame, and makes use of [artificial intelligence](/source/Music_and_artificial_intelligence) along with a multitude of [samples](/source/Sampling_(music)), with sources including dialogue and music from *[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic](/source/My_Little_Pony:_Friendship_Is_Magic)*, vocals from songs by [the Beatles](/source/The_Beatles) and dialogue and music from *[O Brother, Where Art Thou?](/source/O_Brother,_Where_Art_Thou%3F)*.

## Background

JC grame is a Canadian [electronic musician](/source/Electronic_music) and blogger based in [Toronto](/source/Toronto).[3] Grame initially independently released the album *Shadowdog* under the name tirestires in 2015, which was met with a [cult following](/source/Cult_following) owing to its mysterious presentation, dense production and explicit lyrics concerning experiences in the [furry fandom](/source/Furry_fandom).[1][3] In 2024, grame released the first friends& album, *The Rock Band: Stem Fragmentation and Syncopation Exercises #1-7 w/ Supplemental Materials*, through the independent music label Retrac Recordings. He also coined the [microgenre](/source/Microgenre) term "[laptop twee](/source/Laptop_twee)";[1][4] it has been used in contemporary indie music journalism to describe acts such as [Frost Children](/source/Frost_Children), [Bassvictim](/source/Bassvictim), 300skullsandcounting, Worldpeace DMT, ASC, MASSI, and [Rowan Please](/source/Rowan_Please).[1][4][5]

According to *[the Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)* and *[Pitchfork](/source/Pitchfork_(website))*, "friends&" is a [Discord server](/source/Discord#Servers) of Canadian members, with grame at its core performing as "a semi-anonymous [sampledelia](/source/Sampledelia) band".[1][2] The album was credited to them and released on Bandcamp on February 17, 2026, accompanied by liner notes and a manifesto written and published on [Google Docs](/source/Google_Docs), which was later made unavailable.[1] With no clarification being given as to if it was genuine or sardonic, the first line of the manifesto stated that the album was "written after bumping [AJR](/source/AJR) and reading *[Capitalist Realism](/source/Capitalist_Realism)* 300 times".[1] The album is dedicated to grame's father, "an [autistic](/source/Autism) [rateyourmusic](/source/Rate_Your_Music) user who died before he could retire from his job at [td bank](/source/TD_Bank_(Canada))"; his username on the website is named in the album's Bandcamp description.[1]

## Music and production

According to grame, *Folx* began as a [Facebook](/source/Facebook) message "sent at 11:55am on june 16th 2017", and took "8 years, 8 months, and 1 day to complete".[3] grame stated the record was conceived as "an attempt to reinvent [pop music](/source/Pop_music) production"; *Stereogum* described it as a [maximalist](/source/Maximalism#music) album.[1][3] The album makes use of several [musical samples](/source/Musical_sample) from [the Beatles](/source/The_Beatles), *[O Brother, Where Art Thou?](/source/O_Brother,_Where_Art_Thou%3F)*,[2] and *[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic](/source/My_Little_Pony:_Friendship_Is_Magic)*, to motifs lifted from songs such as [the Knack](/source/The_Knack)'s 1979 single "[My Sharona](/source/My_Sharona)",[1] with references to [folk](/source/Folk_rock) and [classic rock](/source/Classic_rock) artists [Bob Dylan](/source/Bob_Dylan), [Dolly Parton](/source/Dolly_Parton), [John Prine](/source/John_Prine), [Cat Stevens](/source/Cat_Stevens), [James Taylor](/source/James_Taylor), [Johnny Cash](/source/Johnny_Cash), and [the Grateful Dead](/source/Grateful_Dead).[1] The album uses [artificial intelligence](/source/Music_and_artificial_intelligence) to clone the voices of several individuals; one notable example is the singing voice of [Jeff Mangum](/source/Jeff_Mangum) of American [indie folk](/source/Indie_folk) band [Neutral Milk Hotel](/source/Neutral_Milk_Hotel).[1][2] *[Pitchfork](/source/Pitchfork_(website))* described the album as blending "[hyperpop](/source/Hyperpop)'s futurism" with "[millennial optimism](/source/Millennial_optimism)".[1] While *[Stereogum](/source/Stereogum)* cited tracks referencing [philosophical](/source/Philosophical) and [political theory](/source/Political_theory), including the works of [Marx and Engels](/source/Marx_and_Engels), [Deleuze and Guattari](/source/Deleuze_and_Guattari) and Mark Fisher.[3]

## Critical reception

*Stereogum* reviewed the album on February 23, 2026; writer Chris DeVille stated that "*folx* is an album with a manifesto and a bibliography. [...] Because grame was forged in the fires of [RYM](/source/Rate_Your_Music), *folx* is the kind of album where a [Burial](/source/Burial_(musician)) melody or the whistling from "[Young Folks](/source/Young_Folks)" might appear out of nowhere — and with that in mind, [Girl Talk](/source/Girl_Talk_(musician)) also feels like a relevant forebear. But [Gregg Gillis](/source/Gregg_Gillis) never built anything quite so thematically dense. I don't know how often I will listen to *folx* — it does not lend itself to casually kicking back — but every time I've pressed play, I've been impressed."[3]

*[Pitchfork](/source/Pitchfork_(website))* reviewed the album on February 26, 2026, rating it a 5.7/10, with the publication's writer Samuel Hyland concluding that there was affirmatively "a compelling statement" in, polemically speaking, "a clusterfuck weighed down by conflicting ambitions [...] a desperate, brute-force attempt".[1]

## Track listing

### Notable samples and interpolations

- "Man of Constant Sorrow ([android] w [autism] [phishes] to [network] @ [the city upon a hill]) ([bOyFrIeNd_qUeSt_bEgInS])" – "[Sleepless in Ponyville](/source/Sleepless_in_Ponyville)"; *[O Brother, Where Art Thou?](/source/O_Brother,_Where_Art_Thou%3F)*[2]
- "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me ([golem] w [dysmorphia] [attempts suicide] to [influence] @ [the vintage clothing store]) ([eLiMiNaTiNg_tHe_pArTs_oF_MySeLf_tHaT_ArEnT_CoNtRiBuTiNg_tO_SuCcEsS] [identity#02])" – "[Ponyboy](/source/Ponyboy_(song))" by [SOPHIE](/source/SOPHIE); "[Ian Curtis Wishlist](/source/A_Promise_(Xiu_Xiu_album))" by [Xiu Xiu](/source/Xiu_Xiu)[1]
- "Catch the Wind ([fairy] w [bipolar mania] [indecently exposes] to [impress] @ [the coworking space]) ([cAsUaLlY_DaTiNg_iN_SeArCh_oF_SoMeThInG_SeRiOuS])" – "[My Sharona](/source/My_Sharona)" by [the Knack](/source/The_Knack); "Sleepless in Ponyville"[1][a]

## Personnel

According to [Bandcamp](/source/Bandcamp) release; all additional performer names are deliberately provided [mononymically](/source/Mononym).[6]

### Friends&

- BC Power
- CT Pond
- JC Grame
- JC Sims

### Additional performers

- Paul – writer, performer
- Audie – vocals
- Brock – vocals
- Cam – vocals
- David – vocals
- Effy – vocals
- Ely – vocals, performer, arranger, additional producer
- Goldwag – vocals
- Katherine – vocals
- Kian – vocals
- Lavender – vocals
- Lea – vocals
- Lily – vocals
- Maddy – vocals
- Maebh – vocals
- Mason – vocals
- Matthew – vocals
- Micha – vocals
- Mills – vocals
- Montecanis – vocals
- Mp3 – vocals
- Octavia – vocals
- Owen – vocals
- River – vocals
- Shahzad – vocals
- Stan – vocals
- Todd – vocals
- Viv – vocals
- Whiskers – vocals

### Production

- Aaron – performer, arranger, additional producer
- Daniel – performer, arranger, additional producer
- Derek – performer, arranger, additional producer
- Liam – performer, arranger, additional producer
- Nick – performer, arranger, additional producer
- Peter – performer, arranger, additional producer
- Steve – performer, arranger, additional producer

### Art

- Katie – cover art

## See also

- *[Cute Accelerationism](/source/Maya_B._Kronic)*
- [Fandom and technology](/source/Fandom#Fandom_and_technology)
- [Woody Guthrie](/source/Woody_Guthrie)

## Notes

1. For a full list of sample and interpolation credits, see the album's [Bandcamp page](https://dawk26.bandcamp.com/album/folx), where it is given as a list of "citations"

## References

1. Hyland, Samuel. ["friends&: folx"](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/friends-folx/). *[Pitchfork](/source/Pitchfork_(website))*. Retrieved 2026-02-26.

1. Morris, Hugh & Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (2026-02-27). ["Add to playlist: the cliche-correcting medieval music of Idrîsî Ensemble and the week’s best new tracks"](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/feb/27/add-to-playlist-the-cliche-correcting-medieval-music-of-idrisi-ensemble-and-the-weeks-best-new-tracks). *The Guardian*. [ISSN 0261-3077](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0261-3077). Retrieved 2026-02-27.

1. ["friends&'s 'folx' Is A Maximalist Manifesto About Folk Music, Capitalism, Family, Labor, The Internet, And More"](https://stereogum.com/2490078/friendss-folx-is-a-maximalist-manifesto-about-folk-music-capitalism-family-the-internet-and-more/music/). *[Stereogum](/source/Stereogum)*. 2026-02-23. Retrieved 2026-02-26.

1. Press-Reynolds, Kieran (2025-12-17). ["The Top Five Musical Rabbit Holes of 2025"](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/the-top-five-musical-rabbit-holes-of-2025/). *[Pitchfork](/source/Pitchfork_(website))*. Retrieved 2026-02-06.

1. Enis, Eli (2025-10-17). ["Chasing Fridays: Bassvictim, laptop twee, Empty Shell Casing Q&A, more"](https://www.elienis.com/chasing-fridays-bassvictim-laptop-twee-empty-shell-casing-interview-more/). *Chasing Sundays*. Retrieved 2026-02-06.

1. ["folx, by friends&"](https://dawk26.bandcamp.com/album/folx). *dawk26*. Retrieved 2026-03-01.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Folx](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folx) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folx?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.