World Cafe Words and Music from WXPN

With its soaring melodies and sweeping baroque rock, the recent Rooms Filled With Light by Fanfarlo explores indie folk pop territory with abundant charm. But along with the grand gestures and orchestral friendliness, Fanfarlo also incorporates electronic and new wave influences, to captivating effect.

Polica is led by singer Channy Leaneagh. This Minneapolis indie band counts Bon Ivers Justin Vernon as one of their biggest fans. Featuring two drummers, synth loops, and auto-tuned vocals, Polica's sound was introduced late last year on Give You The Ghost, which has just been re-released on a larger label. In this interview, Leaneagh explains how the band plays with beats and words in writing their songs, talks about the R and B influence in her singing.

Allo Darlin' visit us this week. This indie-pop outfit began as the solo project of Australian artist Elizabeth Morris, who writes the songs, sings, and plays guitar. Now based in London and expanded to a four-piece band, Allo Darlin' are currently touring the U.S. in support of their sophomore release, Europe. In this interview, Morris explains how she got her start as a singer-songwriter after moving from Australia to London, and she'll discuss the differences between the recording of their new album and the first.

Folk duo, The Milk Carton Kids, join us this weekLos Angeles singer-guitarists Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale, who met as solo artists, joined forces in 2011 for Retrospect, an acoustic live album of their separate catalogs performed as a duo. Thanks to the acclaimed collaboration, the pair has followed up with their first studio album, Prologue, which was released for free download from The Milk Carton Kids' website. Listen to Ryan and Pattengale talk about their unique vocal harmonies, and explain how New York City became so great an influence on the new record, and hear them play live.

Wally De Backer, better known as Gotye this week. Already a multi platinum artist in his home country of Australia, Gotye is now captivating a global audience with his pop hit, Somebody That I Used To Know, from his third album, Making Mirrors. Already sold over five million copies since its release in August. Hear Gotye play live an talk about growing up in the cultural center of Melbourne, plus his use of sampling in his music and the balance he strikes between electronic and acoustic instrumentation.

Host David Dye gets a visit from Justin Townes Earle. The son of musician-actor Steve Earle, Justin has acquired an extensive following of his own over the last four years and has released as many albums. His latest effort arrived last month, called Nothing's Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now, which has a Memphis soul vibe that is attracting much critical praise. In this interview and live performance, Earle, who has battled addictions in the past, talks about the relationship between drugs and creativity, discusses his tradition of borrowing lyrical lines from stories and other artists, and plays for us live.

John K. Samson on this edition of World Cafe Words and Music from WXPN. Over the course of four albums as the leader of indie rock band, The Weakerthans, Samson has become well-regarded for his tight, lyrically powerful songs. His first solo record, Provincial, expands upon a series of EPs first released in 2009 with music inspired by his home of Manitoba. In this interview, Samson talks about his road trips through the province that prompted the album's theme and his own upbringing in Manitoba and plays for us live.

Anais Mitchell on this edition of World Cafe Words and Music from WXPN. After Ani DiFranco signed the Vermont-based singer-songwriter to Righteous Babe Records in 2004, Mitchell went on to gain wider attention for her folk-opera concept album, Hadestown, featuring Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. This time around, premier musicians like Jenny Scheinman and Chris Thile join her on the new record, Young Man In America. Listen to Mitchell's live performance and hear her talk about her career's progression - starting with protest music and then moving into storytelling. Plus she talks about some of the themes of the new songs.

John K. Samson on this edition of World Cafe Words and Music from WXPN. Over the course of four albums as the leader of indie rock band, The Weakerthans, Samson has become well-regarded for his tight, lyrically powerful songs. His first solo record, Provincial, expands upon a series of EPs first released in 2009 with music inspired by his home of Manitoba. In this interview, Samson talks about his road trips through the province that prompted the album's theme and his own upbringing in Manitoba and plays for us live.