Published in the Popular and Folk Music Series this book deals with artists, that ‘have never been written about in academic literature’ (Notes on the Text – no page number). Although most bands covered here differ in style and sound from each other, John Encarnacao groups them under the label ‘New Folk’. Furthermore, the term ‘Punk Aesthetics’, which also appears in the title – already provides a lot of food for thought: ‘It has been suggested to me that the word “aesthetics” in the title of this book is not quite right’ (p. 3).

As genres are never easy to define, the terms Punk and Folk might bring up different associations in every reader that may not always match with the content of this publication. For example, the book does not offer new insights on, what Encarnacao calls ‘punk rock orthodoxy’ (p. 2) – bands in the tradition of The Ramones, The Clash or The Sex Pistols (e.g. The Clash appear only once in the book's discography). The author does not discuss ‘attitude’, which might be the most defining but also the most difficult term to define in connection with Punk. Nor does he examine the fashion aspects (e.g. Mohawks) that could be associated with the term ‘Punk Aesthetics’, probably because they would not match with most of the artists mentioned in this book.

Instead, he uses the term ‘Punk Aesthetics’ in connection with two other aspects, which are covered in the second part, first in Chapter 6 (Punk Aesthetics 1: Outsider Music), which deals with marginalised musicians (e.g. Syd Barrett, Captain Beefheart) and their connections to the mainstream. Furthermore, Chapter 7 (Punk Aesthetics 2: Lo-Fi) links the term ‘Punk Aesthetics’ to sound phenomena. Here, Lo-Fi: Precursors and Early Examples, the Lo-Fi ‘Pioneers’: Tall Dwarfs and Daniel Johnston, Instrumentation and Domestic Practice as well as overall Sound Quality and Production aspects are discussed. In addition, Structure – another subchapter in this part – is crucial to most of the author's analyses, that are also visualized by various tables throughout the book – for example ‘Table 8.1 Album structure: Julius Caesar, by Smog (1993)’ (p. 176).

Overall, the text is divided into three main parts (Frames, The Old Plank Road and New Folk) with a total of 10 chapters – enclosed by the Introduction and a final Conclusion – and the work itself is based on the author's master thesis. The terms ‘Folk’ and ‘New Folk’ are represented more extensively in the text (e.g. Bob Dylan has 10 entries in the discography). However, one might wonder where the connections between ‘Punk Aesthetics’ and ‘New Folk’ are, as both genres seem to belong to very different aesthetical worlds. Encarnacao explains his approach partly in Chapter 3 (Genre: Folk and Punk) within the subchapters Folk – Various Conceptions, Folk as Part of Rock Discourse – Bob Dylan, Punk, the Avant-Garde and Swell Maps.

The book's subtitle derives form the song ‘Way Down The Old Plank Road’ by the musician Uncle Dave Macon from 1926 (p. 1), which belongs to the collection of 84 recordings in the ‘Anthology of American Folk Music’ (1952), which is the subject matter of Chapter 4.

Finally, Part 3 concentrates on the term ‘New Folk’ within three chapters. Chapter 8 (First Stirrings) explores the distinction between ‘alt-country’ and ‘new folk’, while Chapters 9 and 10 refer in more depth to the subgenres ‘Freak Folk’ (2002–2004) and Free Folk. Essential to Chapter 10 are some home recording and self-releasing bands, which the author interprets as ‘Punk Aesthetics’ on the technical and business level.

The value of this book lies primarily in the fact that it is the first study of the musicians in question. Around 50 albums from the period of 1965–2010 have been analysed in the process of writing. It offers its own definition of the term ‘Punk Aesthetics’ – which is mainly understood as amateurism – and connects it to the genre description ‘New Folk’.

Unfortunately, the book says very little about the people behind the ‘New Folk’ Label and their social contexts. It would have been useful to provide more biographic information of the artists that are mentioned frequently. Consequently, additional research is mandatory to get familiar with these groups and their music (e.g. the least unknown track cited here is probably a cover version of ‘Cold Blooded Old Times’ (Johnny Cash) by the band Smog and released on the High Fidelity (2000) Soundtrack (p. 188).

The publication covers mainly ‘alternative music’ from an ‘English speaking’ background. As Encarnacao is based at the University of Western Sydney, this contrasts with his Portuguese family name (his ancestors migrated form East Timor – a former Portuguese colony – to Australia, which is also mentioned in the book's dedication). Consequently, it is more likely that the book will be associated in the future with different variations of ‘Hipster Music’ (e.g. Animal Collective) than with ‘Lusophonia’.

However, the reader will be introduced to the term ‘New Folk’ and some of its subgenres like Avant-folk, freak folk, psychedelic folk, neu-volk, free-volk, progressive folk, etc. Despite this big variety, the musician Will Oldham, alias Bonnie Prince Billy, is a central figure as ‘his music marked the beginning of new folk’ (p. 10). Other bands that are mentioned frequently are Charalambides, Bill Callham, Lampchop and Faun Fables. Enriching is the transfer to some Australian bands (e.g. Kes, Smog). Helpful are the short conclusions in each chapter as well as the concise discography, bibliography and the index at the end of the book.