Espers

III

(Drag City)

Record Review by Alex Pudlin

Before British folk legends Fairport Convention started a folk-rock revolution with the seminal Liege and Lief, they released a trio of albums that fused pastoral folk with American psychedelic rock influences such as Jefferson Airplane. It is from this earlier period that Philadelphia’s Espers draw much of their inspiration. While Greg Weeks does not have Richard Thompson’s guitar chops and Meg Baird’s voice sounds like a shivering calf compared to Sandy Denny’s barnstorming vocals, Espers nonetheless evoke some of the magic of pre-Lief classics What We Did On Our Holidays and Unhalfbricking.  On III, Espers’ vocal melodies feel out of time, consistent with British folk rock’s Renaissance Faire aesthetic. However, the musical arrangements, complete with hazy guitars and entrancing synths, keep the sound rooted in the more tangible present. Like a less-hooky version of Midlake’s 2007 album, Trials of Van Occupanther minus the Fleetwood Mac aping, III presents an enchanted buffet that manages to still sound contemporary.

Espers' songs work best when their melodies are memorable. Tracks like “Caroline” and “Another Moon Song” draw the listener in with familiar yet timeless vocal lines. On both these tracks, Baird and Weeks handle the lead vocals together, which only adds to the musical quilt-work.  “Meridian” has the benefit of both a strong central melody and some crafty interplay between distorted electric guitars and Helena Espvall’s anthemic cello. Espvall’s playing throughout the record is stellar. She both provides eerie flourishes to the more straightforward songs like “Caroline” and a sweeping beauty to III’s most droning, atmospheric moments.

Even when the vocal melodies are more generic, such as on the gentle sway of “The Pearl,” the sonic textures keep you in a locked groove. However, that repetitive groove sometimes causes III’s songs to drag and blend together. Fortunately, the pacing of the record solves this potential shortcoming. A driving track like “Colony”, which oddly sounds like some of System of a Down’s more serene moments, offsets the somewhat monotonous “Sightings.”

Overall, III proves that folk need not revel in the freakier side of the musical spectrum to stretch beyond the coffee shop circuit. Furthermore, Espers wisely incorporate their influences (e.g. the aforementioned Fairport Convention and fellow Brit-folkers Pentangle) to launch a modern sound rather than merely regurgitate their aesthetic. As the guitars screech and howl in Trollslända, it becomes clear, as it did in late 1960s England, that folk and rock are not mutually exclusive genres.