Fern Knight – “Castings” – [Vhf]

Sir Cumference   3/29/2011   12-inch, A Library

You may judge this book by it’s cover – or record by it’s sleeve – as you would be mistakenly led to believe that this is a reissue of some folky album form decades past. Even after dropping the needle onto this mysterious slab of vinyl you would be forgiven the notion that you might be listening to some ’60s/’70s folk-psych-prog-cult-rock band, mixing the sounds of ancient Celts and the wailings of electric guitars more commonly heard in early times of Genesis or King Crimson (whose song “Epitaph” is lovingly recreated here).

Instead this delightfully moody collection of Tarot inspired songs represents the fourth album by the contemporary DC-Philadelphia area band Fern Knight entitled “Castings”. No single track can be made the highlight of this 2010 release, the majority of which were recorded in a gothic mansion in the Brandywine valley in Pennsylvania. Instead pick a track and settle in for some beautiful sounds as conspired by Margaret Ayer (nee: Wienk) and her fellow musical time travelers.

I can’t think of many KFJC shows that this would not fit into, and tracks range in length from the more pop-like to the prog-sized that can accommodate anyone’s needs.