Have you ever been to a record store while on vacation? Like if your buddy takes you to their music shop? In an inexplicable way, any musical pick you serendipitously find has a strange ability to become a straight away favorite, seemingly long lost and inevitably yours. It has a memory attached to it. When I was visiting my cousins in New Jersey, I found Great Lake Swimmers and Meg Baird. I chose them from their album art alone, and they were eerily similar in style. Baird’s debut album, Dear Companion, was simple guitar driven tunes of folk and tradition; perfect music for a man away from home. Ever since then, Meg Baird (of Espers fame) has had a special place in my aural heart. I have some sort of desire to protect her, because she comforted me while I was awash in New Jersey.
On the new Seasons On Earth, her first album in four years, Baird still winds her songs in the same folk wrappings, but the guitar has given way to a wide variety of instruments and flourishes that make the record downright intriguing (you’ll have to listen to find out). And her voice feels deeper seated; able to lift and lower into ranges unexplored to her before. The album feels like a culmination, rather than a reflection, and it’s always exciting to witness a moment a triumph from an understated artist.
“The Finder” is a wonderful tale backed by a gorgeous lap steel guitar and wandering female vocal accompaniment. Let Meg Baird be your quiet companion.
Meg Baird – The Finder by Wichita Recordings
And on with the visuals!
(Seasons On Earth is available now from Drag City)
-Matt
