Dear Companion
Companionship. It's something not a lot of records provide. Sure, many promise it, but few really go the extra yard and cuddle up next to you on the couch after work. This record will brew some tea, listen to your troubles, and soothe you with its intimate folk stylings. ======= "I like violent guitar squalls, delirious 5am dance parties, larger-than-life stage antics, roto-tom workouts, multi-tiered horn sections, sexed-up R&B jams, tsunami-sized synth waves, and nonstop jazz solos as much as the next gal, but when it truly comes down to it, there are few things more mind-blowing to me than Meg Baird. In my head, I have pages and pages of gushing adjectives to attribute to her voice (oh, that voice!), her guitar-playing, and her songwriting, but amid the din of hyperbole these days, the words just seem to fall flat when I type them out. The only thing worth saying is that Dear Companion is as monumental and subtle as a sunrise, its enormous beauty and warmth is easy to overlook or take for granted, but it packs a transcendental punch if you take the time to witness it." - Lea Cho, Blues Control
Espers singer offers another solo collection of traditional ballads, unlikely covers, and well-crafted originals.
Espers co-founder and songwriter Meg Baird wisely takes a stripped-down approach with her solo debut, Dear Companion. That turns out to be the right move, since a lush, multi-guest affair could have sounded like an Espers album, and the freak-folk scene doesn't need to be any more confusing. It also unmasks Baird's…
When all of the psych-, freak-, and anti- qualifiers are stripped away, the heart of those movements (ideally) is just good old, plain folk: music meant to...