Folk/pop
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It's getting hard to find folk that's not too freaky and not too dull, but Fern Knight hits the spot. Aided by assorted Espers and Eyesores, singer-guitarist-cellist Margie Wienk recorded Music for Witches and Alchemists (VHF) during her transformation from Providence weirdo to Fishtown fixture. It unfolds slowly and deliberately; what on first listen sounds pretty damn trad later seems riddled with dissonance. A malevolent guitar solo coils around Wienk's airy voice on "Awake, Angel Snake"; the insistent rhythm of "Marble Grey" cuts like a sacred saw through a wicked dream. There is a darkness running through Wienk's veins — like any decent murder balladeer, she's haunted by forest dwellers and bedeviled by crows — but the mix of mystical and modern gives Fern Knight a mischievous gleam. Prepare to be ensorcelled.
Sat., Feb. 3, 8 p.m., $15-$18, with Vashti Bunyan and Vetiver, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, www.johnnybrendas.com.