Vetiver: The Errant Charm (SubPop)

 |   |  <1 min read

Vetiver: Fog Emotion
Vetiver: The Errant Charm (SubPop)

Although on the receiving end of polite but unimpressed reviews in some circles, there's no denying the quiet charm of this album which suggests last light in California and the sun glinting off the top of small waves which roll onto a warm beach as lovers are silhouetted at the water's edge.

Although they haven't entirely abandoned their former folk influences in favour of Brian Wilson circa '65 or the LA singer-songwriters of the early Seventies, there is certainly an evocation of that warm melancholy here.

There are hints of jangle pop (Hard to Break, Wonder Why) and a Latin shuffle on Fog Emotion (where the temperature drops), and Ride Ride Ride has light power pop groove which sounds like a duffed-up Eagles when they had their wheels rolling.

Faint Praise is that holy moment of reflection after the sun has set, the surfers are gone and singer Andy Cabis is sitting alone wondering where she is now.

So no boundaries are breached, no barriers are hurdled and although you have heard much of this before the overall mood is coherent and not unpleasant. Which is faint praise for an album which only resonates faintly.

Politely unimpressed then?

Like the sound of this? Then try this.


Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Music at Elsewhere articles index

IN BRIEF: A quick overview of some recent international releases

IN BRIEF: A quick overview of some recent international releases

With so many CDs commanding and demanding attention Elsewhere will run this occasional column which scoops up releases by international artists, in much the same way as our SHORT CUTS column... > Read more

RECOMMENDED RECORD: Crowded House: Dreamers Are Waiting (EMI/Digital outlets)

RECOMMENDED RECORD: Crowded House: Dreamers Are Waiting (EMI/Digital outlets)

From time to time Elsewhere will single out a recent release we recommend on vinyl, like this one which comes in a gatefold sleeve with a lyric booklet . . . .  Many years ago Neil... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

GUEST WRITER VIKY GARDEN is confronted by the work of painter Otto Dix

GUEST WRITER VIKY GARDEN is confronted by the work of painter Otto Dix

The paintings of Otto Dix are as unrelentingly abrasive as a mincing machine. It’s the kind of art you get when society is forced through a sieve then put under a microscope. It’s... > Read more

SKEPTICS: SHEEN OF GOLD a doco by SIMON OGSTON

SKEPTICS: SHEEN OF GOLD a doco by SIMON OGSTON

When this film -- Simon Ogston's stylish, thorough and often moving documentary about New Zealand's Skeptics -- appeared briefly in cinemas many years ago it vindicated longtime Skeptic fans who,... > Read more