With my diving into of some modern folk artists recently such as Arborea and Sharron Kraus, I’ve seen the name Meg Baird come up a few times in my suggestions from Apple Music. I’d also seen her mentioned a few times in my researching of bands, but I couldn’t quite remember why. Tonight I looked into her a bit, and it turns out she was a founding member of Espers, a modern psychedelic folk group from Pennsylvania that I’ve been enjoying since first listening to them this year.
Mary Lattimore isn’t a name that I can say I recognized as much, however, though she has performed with some bigger names like Thurston Moore, Steve Gunn, and Kurt Vile. Lattimore is a harpist based in Los Angeles, and the only genre listed for her Wikipedia page is experimental, so I’m pretty excited to hear her play.
This album, Ghost Forests (2018), is the first full collaborative album from Baird and Lattimore, and the Bandcamp listing for the album include experimental, psychedelic rock, and Jamestown. I’m pretty excited to give this album a listen, so with that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Between Two Worlds” begins with some mysterious sounds from some high notes of a harp that gradually trickle into the soundscape, and soon a low, droning bass comes in, while a melty guitar line slowly seems to meander about the space between the high harp and the low bass. Oh wow, the soundscape sounds incredibly peaceful, and almost harkens back to the spacey, experimental sounds of Gong, while staying grounded with elements of folk music in the instrumentation and playing. Oh wow, the guitar picks up a bit of dissonance and distortion, which gradually shift the soundscape into a more intense section. I’m really digging the big, droning bass, which has a sort of Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails quality to the sort of ominous tone and the slight tremelo effect. Oh wow, the instrumentation gently trails off at the end of the track. Great tune, and I’m excited to hear more.
“Damaged Sunset” begins with more of the big, ominous bass, which has a sort of zen-like quality to it that I really dig. Oh wow, the acoustic guitar chord progression comes in strong, and gives the song a bit of structure in the process. Oh wow, the soft, light vocals come in, nearly presenting as a cool summer breeze that gradually begins to rotate about itself as though the breeze has wandered down a tight corridor of some sort. Holy smokes, there are some spacey sound effects from what sound to be a keyboard of some sort off in the background. I really dig the combination of the acoustic guitar on top of the big, droning bass; I’m reminded a lot of some sort of groovy combination of Tess Parks, Anton Newcombe, and Diane Cluck between the different folksy, shifting, and psychedelic elements. Holy smokes, the soundscape somehow gets even sweeter near the end as different psychedelic accentuations seem to rise up from the background. Wow, I’m really digging this track. Great song.
“In Cedars” starts with an interesting medley of sound effects in the background that nearly sound like droning strings mixed with a bit of city traffic at first, which soon resolves to some distorted droning strings in the distance as the sweet melody from the harp enters the soundscape. The music throughout the listening experience has been quite peaceful and meditative, and has thus far been a really pleasant way to wind down my evening. Oh wow, the smooth and soft vocal layers really seem to encompass you in a cloud of serenity while the instrumentation gently guides the cloud along. Oh wow, the effects from one of the keyboards/synths has a really interesting 80s-like sound that melds with the vocals really nicely to create a wave of peaceful noise. Super sweet track.
“Blue Burning” begins with big, low drones from what sound to be a bass synth, while an interesting higher tone gently wades through the bass in the distance, and gradually develops into a distant melody of some sort. Super sweet, peaceful track.
“Painter of Tygers” begins with a really interesting mixture of harp and a distant, distorted, sharp-sounding bass-y effect that seems to lean into the psychedelia of the album. Oh wow, the harp also seems to have a certain psychedelic quality with the different lines that seem to set up expectations and then subvert said expectations by traveling in another direction. Oh wow, the vocals bring about the peaceful, breezy feeling once again, as the lyrics seem to flow between and around the different notes of the harp, and gently propelled forward by the bass sounds in the background. Great tune.
“Fair Annie” begins with some lone harp, which then stops as someone counts into the song. Oh wow, the guitar that comes in after the count into the song has a really sweet, earthy, and folksy feel that I’m really digging. The sweet high notes of the harp really complement the folksy guitar line nicely. The guitar particularly reminds me of a sort of Appalachian folksy feel. Oh wow, either Baird and Lattimore are harmonizing their vocals with another, or there’s a really sweet, tight layering effect on the vocals, and whatever it actually is, I’m really digging the result. Holy smokes, a piano comes and seems to begin pulling the song back to Earth after unknowingly having been lifted to a heavenly plane by the vocals, guitar, and harp. Wow, great track, and a great way to finish the listening experience of this album.
Wow, this album is super sweet. The droning bass tones that are present through much of the album reminded me a fair deal of Espers. The medley of Appalachian folk elements with psychedelic folk accentuations combined for a very tranquil listening experience. If you’re into peaceful folk music, and especially if you have any sort of inclination towards psychedelic folk music, then you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A