Between 2005 and 2007, the Salem, Ore., folk group Typhoon was divided by artistic differences and creative ennui. The band recorded almost nothing. The three-year hiatus concluded in 2010 and Typhoon's subsequent album, Hunger and Thirst, contains so much built-up emotion that it's hard not to get swept up with it. With a regular lineup of 10 to 14 musicians, Typhoon fuses symphonic grandeur with the homespun intimacy of indie rock.
Frontman Kyle Morton, the driving force behind Typhoon's sound, has said that his songwriting channels both his deep fascination with philosophy and his prolonged experience with illness during his adolescence. His fellow instrumentalists combine violins, horns, percussion and more into a melodious panoply of sound that is as awe-inspiring as it is heartbreaking.
Hear two songs from Typhoon's latest EP, A New Kind of House, on this week's World Cafe: Next.
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