The American Espers is seen as an exponent of the freak folk that arose around 2000 with names such as CocoRosie and Antony and the Johnsons. Unjustified, because the group balances on the border of retro with a style-retaining form of psychedelic folk rock as it was made from the late sixties. The same goes for Meg Baird, the singer of Espers who delivers her second solo album with Seasons On Earth.
Nothing about this product, from the cover photos to the arrangements, evokes the feeling that we are living in the twenty-first century. The music is fragile, in the traditions of Nick Drake and Bridget St. John, and both the guitar she touches and her voice sound warm and organic. As if the legendary producer Joe Boyd was behind the controls himself instead of Brian McTear. At the same time, the songs are intimate and pleasant enough to far exceed this retro content. Seasons On Earth sounds like a warm, languid summer day in 1972 and her version of Beatles And Stones from The House Of Love is nothing short of breathtaking. (MR)more
