New Music Review

Vetiver
"Wishing Well" b/w "Pay No Mind"
7" Single
Sub Pop Records









Here's the thing about folky pop music: it's really safe and on its surface kind of hard to screw up. If you're playing in this genre and don't have something to differentiate yourself from the rest of the crowd, you're going to come off like a jerk. Dylan had, and still has for that matter, the lyrical ability of a poet laureate. But he bailed on folk pretty early. His debut album came out in '62, and by the end of '65 he was using blues and roots rock as the canvas for his words. Jay Farrar has a golden voice and can sing whatever he pleases and make it sound authentic. But, I get more excited about Son Volt's harder edged stuff, and when I see him play live I have to admit that I'd probably just prefer it if he did an entire set of Uncle Tupelo rockers. Gordon Lightfoot employed the haunting quality of a 12 string guitar as well as anyone ever has, and his compositions are really complex when stacked up against the rest of the genre. So what about the artists that can't write lyrics like Bob, or sing like Jay, or who have never even heard of the dorian mode?

Vetiver is a San Francisco based group on Sub Pop Records, fronted by singer-songwrite Andy Cabic. This effort was their release for record store day (okay, it's 4 months old, but I haven't heard it before, and you probably haven't either, so I would say it still qualifies as 'new'). The A-side, "Wishing Well", is a very decent song. It's not great, but it's above average. If this is representative of the rest of his work, I'd say Cabic's best asset is the ability to come up with some decent pop hooks. This is a very good thing, unless you want your finished product to sound like Dan Fogelberg. The composition is relatively simple, but by no means is it vanilla. This is also a very good thing, unless you want your finished product to sound like every other asshole out there playing folk music.

"Pay No Mind" is the b-side of this single. To be painfully honest, it's kind of a boring tune. But to find the silver lining of that cloud, even when this band sounds boring they're totally unoffensive. And somehow I think the possession of such a quality is an art form in and of itself. This type of stuff would make a fine soundtrack for cleaning the house or doing your taxes. That's totally fine; not everything is supposed to rock your face off.

Would I buy a full length CD or LP by this band? Probably not. Would I listen to it if someone burned me a copy? Absolutely. Would I go see them play a show in Atlanta if it costs 7 or 8 bucks. Most likely. As I stated early, it's above average. In short, Vetiver is an indie folk-pop band that makes music that sounds pretty good, although it won't blow your mind. Ah, fuck it. Let's just say that it's quite a bit better than Dan Fogelberg and be done with it.