III

Like its predecessors, this instalment from Espers contains enough rough edges to lump it with neo-psychedelic folk contemporaries like Vetiver and Six Organs of Admittance, while being classic enough to endear it to fans of iconic acts such as Pentangle and Fairport Convention. Throughout, songs unfurl like a roll of finest silk, the imagery elemental, the playing accomplished.
The opening ‘I Can’t See Clear’ demonstrates that they can twist folk into baroque forms every bit as beguiling as those produced by The Decemberists. Here, the sweet-glazed melody and sleepy murmur of Meg Baird is swept up in a gust of guitar. ‘The Road of Golden Dust’ maintains the standard, the vocal of Baird twisting sinuously around that of Greg Weeks. Elsewhere, the mood brightens as Espers crane their face towards the light on ‘Another Moon Song’ and the gently eddying ‘The Pearl’.
They’re not afraid to embrace the primal aspect of their nature either, with ‘That Which Darkly Thrives’ particularly rocking. The varied mosaic of ‘Trollslända’ contains a little of everything that’s gone before – it’s light and dark, placid and stormy. It twists like a gnarly old oak tree in an autumnal breeze, the initial gentle folk tone subsumed by the fierce howl of Led Zep riffs and thudding drums. A superb album.