Furling. Meg Baird

Meg Baird may have a whole musical history of at least 15 years behind her and is an active member of the Philadelphia music scene, to me she is a new name. With her fourth solo album Furling she has entered my life and made an immediate impression at my first listening session. Somewhat deeper into the album this impression remained just as favourable.

In the opening track of Furling she shows that she's not afraid of presenting a kind of song that most people will not expect, let alone as the opener to the album. The track is without a lyric, not without a vocal. The slow jazzy music meanders around a musically simple theme. Yet it is of the kind that can mesmerise. Everything is played in a soft way. Together though it is more than enough sound to impress. Over it Meg Baird lets her voice explore vocal lines without words. Oohs and aahs come to my ears from all sides, especially with a headset on. The guitar, keyboards and other sounds, explore what the options are within the chord progression and turn left and right at will it seems. An unexpected, yet pleasant and surprising opening to Furling. For those less inclined to more experimental music, persevere!

The second song, including sleigh bells and a 'Wild Horses' like sound in the intro, is far more traditional but not less nice. 'Star Hill Song' is just as mysterious in sound as 'Ashes Ashes' is. There are instruments that colour in the lines and others that do not, creating that mystery and spookiness. Meg Baird sings a regular vocal melody and sings lyrics here. Where before she was part of the mystery. 'Star Hill Song' is somewhere between a ballad, folk and country. For me it spells beauty. Perhaps a bit too long but without hindering me to get through it and on to the next song.

Promo photo

'Ship Captains' again comes with a The Rolling Stones reference. This time in the way the acoustic guitar is played. Circa 1971 Stones ballads. The rest of the song has not got a lot to do with Jagger c.s. Meg Baird's voice is too different and the atmosphere too fairytale like. At face value, there's not a lot going on in 'Ship Captains'. It is the atmosphere and the spaciousness created in the mix that allows for the intriguing song. Meg Baird's way of singing could have been part of the British folk scene of 50+ years ago, 'Ship Captains' a track on Jefferson Airplane's 'Surrealistic Pillow'.

Folk remains the driving factor on Furling. Meg Baird does a lot of things right here. She captures me also with just a voice and an acoustic guitar, like in 'Cross Bay'. The longer I listen to Furling the more I get the feeling to have been fooled by the bio and Furling is a re-release from 1970 and Meg Baird a long-forgotten singer and today a grandmother many times over. Even if this was the case, the album would have been just as good and a just rediscovery. It isn't. This is a 2023 album and one deserving attention on its own merits. Music is timeless even if it's just over one week old when I'm writing this. Furling contains beautiful music.

Wout de Natris

You can order and listen to Furling here:

https://megbaird.bandcamp.com/album/furling