Pearl and the Beard

Brooklyn-based three-piece, Pearl and the Beard, creates modern indie folk songs that seem to alternate between fragile sincerity and tongue-in-cheek sarcasm. The stripped-down format includes sparse instrumentation--which at any given time includes some combination of drums, cello, acoustic guitar or accordion--and a heavy reliance on the intertwining of voices from each of the band's three members. Tracks such as a medley of Will Smith song snippets delivered with a winking sense of irony, may be a little too precious or hipster-chic for many listeners tastes, but Pearl and the Beard luckily have the melodic chops to exist well-beyond that of just a novelty act.