Josephine Foster: Godmother (Fire/digital outlets)

Given we've sometimes struggled with the idiosyncratic folk-cum-whatever sound of this Colorado-raised eccentric, we do note we've written about three previous albums.

So why stop now?

And if you've read some of what we said (“enjoy or endure”) but recoiled a bit, this terrific collection of folkadelics should be the ideal entry point.

This is the album to get you through the Foster gate.

Because where she previously treated us to strange parlour ballads, unearthly folk, odd vocal affectations and more, this album is a very focused and – in most places – very appealing . . . in a left-field folk-pop way (Hum Menina, Spark Fly and Guardian Angel which open the economic nine-songs).

This musically slippery collection with organ, bass and beats might just be the welcome midpoint between the albums we've written about and her early folkadelic style.

Until this album we hadn't bothered to hear her even earlier albums, like 04's All the Leaves Are Gone with the psychedelic folk-rock band The Supposed (on Spotify here)

But intrigued by these songs we went way back into her catalogue . . . and it's impressive.

Imagine a more rock-oriented Incredible String Band influenced by San Fran psychedelics and fronted by a Grace Slick/Maddy Prior on All the Leaves.

So this seductive album could be your gateway to the more recent eccentric folk we've tried valiantly to introduce, or could nudge you back to when she was something else.

And believe me, then and now she is “something else”.

But tuning in for this album means you get to hear her layer in diaphanous vocals (Dali Rama), engage with low beats but let her voice rise above them (Nun of the Above) and over the brief (40 minutes) arc take you from the alt.folk of Hum Menina to the quiet folkadelic denouement of The Sum of Us All.

As always with Josephine Foster, she's not for everyone.
And despite some promo nonsense appended to this, Godmother isn't “baroque folk”.

That's a tagline for people who have no idea of what “baroque” actually means.

Ignore that over-egging and just engage with this album.

As with Karen Dalton, Joanna Newsom etc, this album is for people who are willing to take a chance and engage with an idiosyncratic but increasingly special talent.

Start your Foster exploration right here.

.

You can hear and buy this album at bandcamp here or through Fire Records here