The Acorn

In the early years of the 2000s, multiple Canadian cities such as Montreal and Ottawa fostered a thriving indie rock environment whose influence soon reached wider audiences. The Acorn carved out a distinct identity by relying on acoustic instrumentation and thematic concepts, resulting in a style that blended experimental folk elements with rock & roll. Songwriter Rolf Klausener launched the project in 2002 as a solo recording endeavor, issuing the debut album The Pink Ghosts through Kelp Records in 2004 and the Blankets! EP the next year. Paper Bag Records later signed the act and put out the Tin Fist EP in 2006. Glory Hope Mountain arrived in 2007, at which point the endeavor had expanded into a complete band. Drawing from the experiences of Klausener’s Honduran-born mother, Gloria Esperanza Montoya, the record helped establish the Acorn as a notable Canadian act abroad. Paper Bag released Heron Act in 2008, a set of radio sessions and demos, while the band independently offered the digital EPs Little Elms and Ear Worms. No Ghost, the third studio album proper, surfaced in 2010 and was soon joined by the remix collection Make the Least of the Day: No Ghost Reinterpreted. Afterward the group entered a period of reduced activity when several members moved away and Klausener pursued the electronic side project Silkken Laumann. He kept composing during the break, leading to the spare, electronic-inflected album Vieux Loup that appeared in 2015.