s/t by Fern Knight

Third CD of beautiful music from Fern Knight, led by the crystal voice, guitar, and strings of Margie Wienk. Drawing from diverse influences such as Krautrock, UK folk and early baroque and renaissance music, Fern Knight's eponymous recording juxtaposes the calm surface of harp, cello, and violin against the perfectly-timed distorted squalls of Jim Ayre's Flying V and a dark undercurrent of lyrical and vocal mystery. The overall effect is a lush, pastoral and warm ode to all things green and living, a running theme that winds through the songs: "All is lost / and all will run / over graying ground / to the rays of the sun," sings Wienk in the album's closing track, "Magpie Suite Part III." The album's cohesion rests upon the core quartet's combination of acoustic and electronic instruments, providing the perfect vehicle for Wienk's unique song writing and string arrangements. Since the 2006 release of "Music for Witches and Alchemists" (vhf#101), Fern has toured extensively in the US and Europe, as well touring and recording along side contemporaries Greg Weeks and Brooke Sietinsons of Espers and Tara Burke of Fursaxa in Drag City artists The Valarie Project.