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analysis w/e 14.5.11 |
DVDs out 9.5.11 |
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@ DVDfever Youtube |
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May 11 2011 
DVDfever co uk
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Late developer... comes of age. Geeky-looking Laura Veirs has many music fans in the music business, apparently garnering a cult following which hasn’t crossed over to the mainstream. Now on her seventh album, July Flame may go some way in addressing that problem, though, in terms of the UK, it might prove a much tougher call, despite the potential radio-friendliness of the tunes. In truth it’s in the hands of the gods, or some ‘alert’ programme producer cum playlist compiler. What she really needs is an UK plugger. Though a product of the 21st century singer-songwriter scene, 36-year-old Veirs, from Portland Oregon, has an air of late 50s Joan Baez, certainly from the opening song I Can See Your Tracks. Admittedly, she doesn’t have Baez’s cultured tubes; nevertheless she has the chops for delivering country-tinged soft-toned modern Americana, many of which have a melancholic hue. After a few listens, I’ve determined that this album could have been cropped to maximise the effect, because there are some definite fillers here such as Sleeper In The Valley, Wide Eyed, Legless, and Carol Kaye. Majority of the songs are extremely well crafted with excellent use of subtle instrumentation. Nothing is over-baked in terms of production / presentation values. There’s a genuine authenticity and engagement coming across here, unlike many of the young pretenders knocking about the burgeoning Americana slipstream. July Flame is full of lovely melodies and harmonies (songs about the natural world - birds, snakes, eels, the sun and wind) which suck you in, but here and there, there are examples of dragging things out a bit, like the title track. Country-kissed Sun King is a delightful and lazy jaunt dressed by subliminal and effortless pedal steel solos which envelop the on-going gentle strums, reminding me of Cerys Matthews’ Cockahoop album, and strangely enough, she sounds just like Cerys.
Keeping the country faith, a banjo opens the stripped-back Where Are You Driving?, until it develops, aided by strings, but it’s kept in check to allow the voice to do the work. A similar mood prevails on Life Is Good Blues, which is at odds with the tempting album title. There’s no fire going on here, because July Flame is actually a peach, and appropriately, the songs are little peaches that have a unique private quality, as if you’re listening-in on some private little show, similar to Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago. This is even more the case on Little Deschutes, where a haunting piano beds the track, again allowing Veirs’s beguiling voice to shimmer throughout this simple ballad, punctuated by edgy rough hewed guitar solos. It takes some time for things to perk-up, and upbeat (no sweat mind) Summer Is Champion does the trick, breaking the slumbering mood, with nifty splashes of brass. You simply can’t ignore her joy on the effusive When You Give Your Heart with her nylon acoustic oozing the pleasure of love as she dextrously delivers her cute picks. Saving the best ‘til last can often work wonders, and that’s what she’s done with Make Something Good - a lush piano/string driven classic, duetting with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James. The verdict: Very, very enjoyable.
Weblinks: lauraveirs.com / myspace.com/lauraveirs (music samples)
The full list of tracks included are :
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B 37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier. PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
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Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
