Espers – Espers III (2009) [Drag City] // Grade: C-

There’s a Wiccan bookshop located at the end of my block. It’s uncharacteristically large as far as these sorts of shops go and always seems to be bustling whenever I walk past. III, the fourth album from Philly psych folk collective Espers would be the perfect soundtrack for this shop if it was staffed by neo-Pagan girls who looked Stevie Nicks instead of the middle aged man in the tiger print sari and industrial boots.

The closing track’s title, “Trollslända”, is a good indicator of what to expect from III. Meg Baird’s airy vocals float over a landscape of strings, woodwinds and occasional guitar wails that nod to classic rock. Where Espers’ previous releases were lurking works filled with menacing dark shadows, III is the sun peeking through storm clouds.

Across the scope of notable female vocalists, Baird’s high-pitched, wavering voice is definitely unique, and would be equally at place fronting krautrock canons or 1970′s trippy, hippie carols. Unfortunately, III finds Baird’s vocals largely falling flat, warbling aimlessly across the folky “Caroline” and the slowly ambling psych guitar-filled “Sightings”. But when Baird combines her vocals with creative partner Greg Weeks on the album’s darkest selection, the eerie duet “That Which Darkly Thrives”, III comes together with harmonious results.

It’s difficult to critique an album like III, because nothing I could write would be able to sell an act like Espers to the average music fan. Despite every album Espers’ puts out sounding vastly different, they remain a niche act, circulating far off the grid of popular music trends with a sound you either love or just don’t get. From a critical standpoint, III sorely lacks the intensity and depth of Espers’ earlier releases, but if you’ve previously found their back catalog too dark, then you’ll appreciate III‘s calming, melodic direction. After four releases, I still don’t love Espers (and I probably never will), but I am starting to get them.

- Scrooge McFuck