Listening to Fern Knight’s fourth album Castings, the 21st century seems to melt away, revealing eerie medieval landscapes. Lead singer/cellist/guitarist Margaret Ayer serves up an interwoven set of songs laden with Tarot card-inspired imagery. Tunes like “The Poisoner,” “Pentacles” and “From Zero to Infinity” are drenched in arcane atmosphere, made enticing by Ayer’s silken vocals. Castings benefits from its expansive arrangements, built around James Wolf’s keening violin lines, Jesse Sparhawk’s shivery harp and Jim Ayer’s feedback-laden guitar. The blending of these sometimes clashing elements creates a dense sonic tapestry with prog-rock overtones. Acknowledging this influence, Fern Knight offers a stately rendition of King Crimson’s “Epitaph” that lets the players stretch out and test their limits. Equally grand in scope is “Long Dark Century,” a band original conjuring up visions of spellbound maidens and vast, lonesome woods. Castings is a convincing invocation of long-ago mysteries, played with folk elegance and rock bite.