Vetiver - To Find Me Gone
[FatCat]

As a full time member of Devendra Banhart’s touring band, it’s somewhat inevitable that Andy Cabic would see his own band, Vetiver, tagged with the same ‘new weird folk’ label as Banhart et al. And doubtlessly there are moments of folk like introspection to ponder over, but on this, their second album, Vetiver have created such a rich tapestry of sound that it seems something of an injustice to pigeonhole them in this way.

Over the course of the record Vetiver explore a myriad of musical themes, be it the eastern influenced drones and percussion on opener ‘Been So Long’ or the hypnotic pulse and snaking guitars of ‘You May be Blue’, there is a streak of individuality running throughout this record that that exhibits a healthy disregard for adhering to the conventions of any one genre.

The glue that holds the whole endeavour together, though, really is the song-writing. Over the course of the albums eleven songs there is not one chink in the armour in this department. Strangely the albums defining moment is, in musical terms, perhaps also the most conventional moment, ‘I Know No Pardon’ is a slice of soulful country-folk that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Flying Burrito Brothers album, a true triumph for song-writing craft.

Elsewhere other memorable moments come in the form of the slow building strum of ‘Red Lantern Girls’, which unexpectedly bursts into a stampede of drums and squalling guitar and the drowsy, echo chamber enhanced prettiness of ‘Down at El Rio’.

All in all, this really is an album that defies categorisation, so cast aside any pre-conceived notions you may have and give it a listen, it’s as subtle and rewarding as anything you’ll hear in a long while.