Laura Veirs visited the fine folks at Daytrotter back in March to lay down some beautiful, acoustic tracks. The tracks are lush, gentle, and reminiscent of Summer evenings past. The more I listen, the more I am captivated by them – and it seems I’m not alone. Colin Meloy has described her most recent album – July Flame – as “the best album of 2010.” (It’s worth noting that he said this in January, which I take to be a sign of confidence rather than sarcasm.) As her site describes it:
[July Flame] explores the emotion of mid-summer. Drenched in wood smoke, sunlight, pollinators, pastoral dales, fireworks and warm nights, her lyrics explore the dichotomy between one’s desire for permanence and security and the realization that such things rarely exist.
And there is a sense in all of these Daytrotter tracks that things are both beginning and ending at once… that the world is both waking and sleeping, and that you are, indeed, caught between the two. Follow me for more…
About Veirs’ songwriting, Daytrotter writes:
She writes these kinds of moments, these times that tend to get etched into our heads from some other time in our lives, when an innocence and new sights and sensations were all that we had and all that we wanted to keep. Veirs’ songs are encrypted with this same innocence, something that lets us look in on where we’ve been and how we used to be so much better in seeing things, in acknowledging and embracing tender beauties, even when we thought we were just looking at something and that was all, nothing else.
There’s something about that idea that these songs are, in fact, encrypted with innocence that I find particularly apt. With each listen, I feel like I’m catching just a bit more… remembering something that I had thought, at first, must have been only a shadow. I can feel them awakening parts of me – calling them out into the warm, Summer air – even as they banish Winter from memory. I think, indeed, that it’s perfect that these tracks have come to us so close to midsummer, and I think you’ll see why when you listen.
So, visit Daytrotter to listen and get your free copy.
And after that, maybe view this fine Tiny Desk Concert from NPR:
And from Veirs’ own site, here’s a couple sample tracks from her other works. Visit here for more.
Here’s “Wildwood Flower” from 2008’s limited edition EP Two Beers Veirs:
[audio:https://www.shh-listen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/WildwoodFlower.mp3|titles=Wildwood Flower] Download
And here’s “Bedroom Eyes” from 2003’s Troubled by the Fire:
[audio:https://www.shh-listen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Bedroom_Eyes.mp3|titles=Laura Veirs – Bedroom Eyes] Download
You can also check out her myspace page for more music.
Finally, here’s the video for “July Flame” (lots more videos here):