Can we just say something? This whole Philebrity Player thing is friggin’ great. We just keep lucking out with great records: First Blood Feathers, then Spank Rock, then Gnarls Barkley, and now this. To complete the first-month rollout, we present Espers II, the long-awaited proper sophomore effort from Philadelphia’s most accomplished psych-folk troupe. And speaking of “pysch,” I mean, you knew where this whole New Weird America thing was going, right? No one can sing about sprites and elves forever, you know, and just as the last Devendra Banhart record was so much about evoking the ghost of T. Rex just prior to his glam ascendance, so too does the second album by Espers set its controls to the heart of the sun. Deep and weird and scary like tripping on a too-hot summers’ day, Espers II is surprising not because it’s haunting, but the way in which it’s haunting. It’s like early Yes or Obscured By Clouds-era Pink Floyd, and Good God In Fishtown, it was worth the wait. And it clearly marks a new point of departure for Beard Nation ‚Äî one in which Sandy Denny rolls up her sleeves and rocks out with none other than Black Sabbath. And that, friends, is something very new.
Philebrity is pleased to stream Espers II this week, and in the interest of full disclosure would like to wish a hearty congrats to our friends in the band. To Uncle Hammy and the rest of youse: You done a good thing here.
CLICK HERE TO LAUNCH ESPERS II ON THE PHILEBRITY PLAYER!
For more info on Espers: DragCity.com
And for the trainspotters, spot this: Espers II is not out officially until 5/16. So park it here, beardo.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 9th, 2006 at 12:35 pm.