Don't Weigh Down The Light

Singer and songwriter Meg Baird takes her time between solo records. Her first offering, Dear Companion, was released between Espers' albums in 2007. Her second, Seasons on Earth, appeared in 2011, a year after the excellent covers set Leaves from Off the Tree with Sharron Kraus and Helena Espvall. Don't Weigh Down the Light follows after another four-year break, and is her first album since relocating to San Francisco from Philadelphia. What ties all of her albums together is her root sources. They are deeply steeped in, even haunted by, the English folk tradition informed but not dominated by psychedelia. Cut at Bauer Mansion Studio and mixed by Eric Bauer and Bob Marshall, this set offers a contrast to earlier outings in that Baird is confident enough to play several instruments with only longtime collaborator Charlie Saufley (Hexadic) accompanying her.

With repeated listening -- which it most certainly warrants -- Don't Weigh Down the Light, despite dynamic and instrumental economy, feels almost lush in its melodic sophistication and articulate, poetic lyrics. It carefully builds -- creatively and emotionally -- on everything Baird had accomplished so far and ascends to another level entirely. - AllMusic