First Impressions: “Crow” by Maggie Pope

Philly folksinger Maggie Pope’s voice glides on the gusts of an acoustic guitar on “Crow,” her latest single, rising higher on the chorus and dipping lower on the verses. “What if I fly on iridescent wings,” she asks early on, later gently intoning that she will do just that in hopes of being seen by an unnamed someone. (When was “iridescent” last used in song? Asking for a friend.) The ode to Icarus wafts along, punctuated by piano and percussion and wordless vocals that could well be tears falling from above, and feeling shorter than the six minutes it is. At first listen, the lyrics seem to be about a relationship and drifting apart, perception and matters of the heart, lost languages and hymns of yore, and black birds laughing. (Yes, black birds laughing.) As it comes to a close, however, the song’s wingspan increases from that of a crow to a majestic Andean condor, with faith its central conceit.

It’s beautiful.