Meg Baird

Meg Baird’s first solo outing since 2015 finds the songwriter exploring some of her most tender moments, parsing out songs that stretch in the faded flickers of late afternoon sun. In the interim, she’s been plenty busy, releasing the debut from Heron Oblivion, pairing with Mary Lattimore for a collaborative LP on Three Lobed, and lending her voice to records from friends like Kevin Morby, Steve Gunn, Will Oldham, and Joan Shelley. Back at the helm of her own LP, Baird is as captivating as ever, draping her folk in a delicate dawnbreak aura that wraps around the listener like an heirloom afghan.

Furling opens up Meg’s palette, still tethered to the ‘60s Anglican fog of folk that wound around Espers, but thickening up her sound beyond a solo songwriter fingerpicking unadorned. Along with her partner and Heron Oblivion bandmate Charley Saufley, Baird builds the record into a hazy, diaphanous affair, hung with the hallmarks of ‘90s dreampop, ‘60s folk, modern torchlight ballads, and melancholic synthpop pulses. Baird pushes far beyond her usual array, adding mellotron, organs, synths, piano, and vibraphone to the mix. Melancholy slides yawn over the strums on “The Saddest Verses,” while standout single “Will You Follow Me Home” peppers in a driving beat that’s far removed from her oeuvre. The record wipes away conceptions about Baird’s works, leaving plenty to love for those who’ve long been under the songwriter’s spell, while opening several inviting doors to unfamiliar newcomers.

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