Laura Veirs

God forbid. :-)

I finally got around to giving the new (2010) record a chance, and I was delightfully surprised. If you've ever liked anything Veirs has done in the past, this is without a doubt worth hearing. She takes some risks--there's pretty strong diversity--but she never strays too far from her "sound".

Definitely the most consistent of her albums, IMO.

yeah, most accessible Veirs album I'd say. fresh good-hearted songs, a little help from that My Morning Jacket guy gives it a Fleet Foxes vibe in places.
and a very sweet ode to Carol Kaye.
made my top year list fwiw.

yes, great album! when it came out i was sure it had a shot at my year-end. missed the top 10 in the end, but still love the record.

It's always odd when I see no one talking about albums like this one when albums by Joanna Newsom or The Tallest Man on Earth (both of whom I absolutely love) seem so ubiquitous.

I still need to hear this.

'Summer Is The Champion' off July Flame is such a wonderful song, I played the shit out of that in 2010.

^Yeah, that's the standout track.

I was given "Years of Meteors" to review at an alt-weekly I used to work at (presumably on the assumption that I'd slag it off for being too precious and indie), but it's ended up being one of my favourite reocrds of the '00s.

OTOH "Carbon Glacier" is sweet but patchy, and "Saltbreakers" is fine but too much of a not-quite-as-interesting "Years of Meteors" redux. How does the new one stand up? Had it on my iPod for an age but haven't got around to listening yet. I think I prefer her when she's all about the wibbly atmospherics, rather than when she foregrounds her vocals and lyrics, when she can come across a bit too generic rootsy-songwritery for me.

Irrelevantly, I guess I should add that I interviewed her once, and she's super smart and friendly.

New album is pretty stunning. The guitar work, in particular, is fantastic.

Boy, did Laura pick the wrong week to release The Lookout, with so many great albums in a similar vein dropping at the moment. It'll get lost in the melée, but it's pretty solid.

thanks for the heads up!

it is indeed pretty solid and overlooked

Seven Falls is my jam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLEHyxY8jlI

strong song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kToM3ZyiY2Q

Underrated songwriter. Any plans for a Case/Lang/Veirs follow up?

New album sounding great, it goes without saying. It's Laura Veirs!

https://lauraveirs.bandcamp.com/album/my-echo

I'll, uh, echo that July Flame praise ten years late, while I'm here. One of my favorite albums.

'Summer Is The Champion' off July Flame is such a wonderful song, I played the shit out of that in 2010.

Same -- vivid memories of my last full summer in Montana and that song :')

new album is really good, i agree. hard to think of many artists that are as consistently good and consistently in their fairly narrow lane as Laura. (i don't mean that backhandedly.)

Saw her play last night in a tiny warehouse space filled with antique bass drums, it was pretty magical. She played the first two tracks from the upcoming Phone Orphans -- of course even her abandoned songs are remarkably efficient and evocative.

Just managed to get a ticket for a gig tonight, in a church up the road. Karl Blau is supporting. I am excite.

Awesome! What was it like? Great songwriter

Karl Blau did a solo set (including his gorgeous cover of 'How I Got to Memphis) then came out and supported Laura Veirs on guitar. I hadn't appreciated how closely they've worked together in the past twenty years. Veirs seemed to thoroughly enjoy herself - frequently taking the piss out of herself and how singing in a church setting made some of her vocalese made her feel like a Disney princess. A lovely evening.