Folk used to mean what pop used to mean, but more so: It wasn't just what folks liked; it was what folks could make themselves. What's impressive about youngish old folkie Mason Jennings is the way he and his kinda bluesy, kinda jazzy, kinda McCartney trio makes rich, relaxed folk sound like something shrugged off instead of sweated over, like something fun instead of something whole-grain. You can bounce and hum with him, his politics are good, and the occasional hill-song throwbackdoesn't feel like homework. Fact is, he's probably the best popularizer of folk music since Michelle Shocked, and if he lacks her grand ambitions and impressive voice, he also lacks her dispiriting madness.
