Meg Baird - Seasons On Earth

Meg 'her out of Espers' Baird has a lovely line in solo acoustic stuff on the side, and this is her latest. It's very much in the vein of a female-vocalled Smog, maybe Will Oldham or Lambchop at their quieter moments. Lots of ethereal layers of fingerpicked guitar, sometimes with subtle violin and slide guitar, over tender and tuneful crooning that's not too obtrusive and really complements the overall atmosphere. I kind of think her voice sounds a bit like if Christina Carter tried to sound like Joni Mitchell, but I don't mean that in a bad way. It's totally silky and relaxing. The backing is often repetitive and occasionally dips its toe into the psych-folk end of things with ethereal twinkles and twiddles, but never enough to detract from the simple and concise songwriting at the core of this record. The roots here are definitely in folk from the '60s and '70s, and she's not afraid of throwing in some Crosby, Stills and Nash-style close harmonies when they're needed, but the arrangements are never too crowded for the icy minimal folk heart to be obscured entirely.