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Espers from Philadelphia were among the most important exponents of a folk revival in the noughties, which the music media dubbed freak folk at the time. It was enough for a band to be considered “freaky” if they operated outside the norms of the then exploding genre.
Espers blended influences from late ’60s Brit folk with psychedelic touches to create a twisted chamber music that was miles ahead of the competition’s efforts. Even before Espers broke up in 2010, their singer Meg Baird released solo records in the vein of her band: She didn’t see folk as a purely retro phenomenon, but took the tradition as a starting point for musical field research.
On her fourth solo album FURLING, Meg Baird stakes out her territory with the first and last song: “Ashes, Ashes” is a dubby ambient folk track, “Wreathing Days” is a hazy, dream-pop piano ballad. In between there is a collection of wonderful, sometimes ethereal folk songs, lovingly instrumented and arranged, and Meg Baird’s unmistakable voice reigns supreme.
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