This is the third CD of beautiful music from Philadelphia quartet Fern Knight, led by the crystal voice, guitar, and cello of Margaret Wienk. Drawing from diverse influences such as '70s Krautrock, UK folk, and baroque and renaissance music, the band's eponymous recording juxtaposes the calm surface of harp, cello, and violin against the perfectly timed distorted squalls of a 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' post-apocalyptic landscape: "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--the perfect vehicle for Wienk's unique songwriting and string arrangements. Since the 2006 release of Music for Witches and Alchemists, Fern Knight has toured extensively in the US and Europe, as well touring and recording as members of The Valerie Project (Drag City Records).