The Psalters are a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

band which began in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, in 1997. Their music is sometimes described as

folk punk Folk punk (known in its early days as rogue folk) is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was popularized in the early 1980s by the Pogues in England, and by Violent Femmes in the United States. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in ...

. Notable not only for their music, but also for their radical lifestyle, the group is semi-nomadic (at one point living on the road for five years), and functions as an intentional Christian community. The group have labeled themselves as anarchists several times. Their lineup, which usually features about eight to ten musicians, is constantly changing, though a smaller group of core players have remained consistent long-term members. Over 100 different people have been part of the group at some point. Most members go by unusual pseudonyms, such as Captain Napkins or Friar Flute Flakes.

Style

Their musical style is based around the consistent use of acoustic instruments. Their compositions are heavily influenced by punk rock, traditional near-eastern music, as well as by other folk traditions such as bluegrass, and

klezmer Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...

. While they make frequent use of instruments uncommon in American music, such as the

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

and

kemenche Kemenche ( tr, kemençe) or Lyra is a name used for various types of stringed bowed musical instruments originating in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly in Armenia, Greece, Iran, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. and regions adjacent to the Black S ...

, other, more common instruments, such as the

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

, are used as well. Their lyrical themes are generally centered on either the worship of God, or the implications of living out the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

today. These themes reflect singer Scott Krueger's view that "our Christian walk is supposed to affect every aspect of our lives. So as artists, we want to have that shape our art." Songs about living out the gospel are often political, anti-patriotic, anti-violence, and pro-justice. Their lyrics frequently reference verses from the Bible.

Discography

*''Prayers to Be'' (1998) *''Sya a Ku'' (2000) *''Inside an Evil Axis'' (2002) *''us vs us'' (2004) *''Patrin IV: Live at Joe's'' (2005) *''Divine Liturgy of the Wretched Exiles'' (2006) *''Carry the Bones'' (2011)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Psalters American Christian musical groups Folk punk groups Christian punk groups Musical groups established in 1997