Vetiver - "Wonder Why"

Today, we get another treat from the Vetiverse in the form of "Wonder Why," the second single from Andy Cabic's forthcoming June 14th Sub Pop release, The Errant Charm. In sharp contrast to the hazy electronic loops of previous album leak "Can't You Tell," "Wonder Why" is about as straightforward as a pop song gets, chugging along pounding drums, a bright piano motif, and an easily repeatable chorus. If "Can't You Tell" is a smokey late-night touch of dreamy psychedelia, "Wonder Is Why" is a warm summer afternoon driving around town with the windows down and music blasting. One thing is for certain, for better or worse, Cabic has never sounded so polished.

Vetiver - "Wonder Why" (from The Errant Charm)

Ty Segall - "You Make The Sun Fry"

My experience with bands recording covers records is that the proceeding follow up LP always tends to be much richer from that experience (see Phosphorescent's Here's To Taking It Easy after To Willie and Vetiver's Tight Knit post Thing of the Past). Think of it as a rock & roll masters class. Fresh off his Ty Rex EP of T. Rex covers, Ty Segall is set to return with Goodbye Bread—yes that adorable hound photograph is the actual cover art—on June 21st via Drag City. And yes, that bluesy swagger on the LP's first single, "You Make The Sun Fry," reeks of Marc Bolan—and that's a very good thing.

Ty Segall - "You Make The Sun Fry" (from Goodbye Bread)

Vetiver - "Can't You Tell"

Sub Pop has released the first single from Vetiver's forthcoming fifth album, The Errant Charm, due out on June 14th. "Can't You Tell," the third track off the album, commences with a solo reverb-backed organ and proceeds to open up with a wide spectrum of sounds, some of which come as a surprise to the Vetiverse. While the acoustic guitar is a staple of Andy Cabic's recording, the track's drum loop and swirling backdrop of effected keyboards are unfamiliar additions to the usual acoustic instrument-oriented production. Cabic wrote much of The Errant Charm's songs while walking the streets of San Francisco and the hazy and lightly psychedelic "Can't You Tell" fits nicely into that backstory, operating with a movement both casual and unhurried.

Robin Pecknold - "Be Yourself"

An all-star roster of folk and rock musicians have brought fresh color to former Hollies and CSNY songwriter Graham Nash's solo music on Be Yourself: A Tribute To Graham Nash's Songs For Beginners. Released on May 25th, the album is available digitally now and on 180 gram vinyl, which comes with a bonus 7" of additional material. Featured artists include Port O'Brien, Sleepy Sun, Vetiver, Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Robin Pecknold of the Fleet Foxes.

Robin Pecknold - "Be Yourself" (from Be Yourself: A Tribute To Graham Nash's Songs For Beginners)

Mixtape #3: Free Your Minds

SIDE A

The Funk Brothers - "Their Own Language"

The Very Best - "Julia" (Javelin remix)
Javelin - "Moscow 1980"

Voxtrot - "The Start of Something"
Club 8 - "Western Hospitality"
Fang Island - "Daisy"
Toro Y Moi - "Causers of This"
Twin Sister - "All Around and Away We Go"
French Kicks - "Said So What"
The Love Language - "Heart To Tell"

SIDE B
The Morning Benders - "Why Don't They Let Us Fall In Love"
Cavedweller - "Can't Cook Down"
Tom Petty - "Keeping Me Alive"
Blondie - "Die Young, Stay Pretty"
Blair - "Paris France"
Free Energy - "Something In Common"
Megapuss - "Crop Circle Jerk '94"
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - "Mama Don't Like My Man"
Vetiver - "See You Tonight"

Free Your Minds mixtape.zip

To retain track order, drag the folder (afters it's unzipped) into an iTunes playlist.

Vetiver - "Slippery"

Vetiver's Tight Knit was one of my picks for best albums of the year. And one of the best songs on that record is the uptempo "More of This," which the band is currently selling as a tour-only 12" single. On the tail end of that single is a new song—"Slippery"—which uncharacteristically unfolds over a big bass drum loop while establishing its dreamy place in the Vetiverse.

Vetiver - "Slippery" (from More of This 12")

The Best and Worst Album Covers of 2009

The Best

Benjy Ferree's artwork for Come Back To The Five and Dime, Bobby Dee Bobby Dee might be my favorite of the year simply because the man covers up his receding hairline with magic marker via a 1950s era coif. Also, did anyone notice the Love Language use the same exact font style for their debut? Generally, it was a great year for artwork with walking plant people, a meditative snow person, and a badass Neko Case clutching a sword, ready to smite a dragon


The Worst

What do the KKK, a disco ball, and rockets have in common? Apparently, DJ and hip-hop group N.A.S.A. are trying to say that the US space program is made up of a bunch of disco dancing lynch enthusiasts. At least, that's my interpretation. As for JJ, why the blood-spattered marijuana leaf? Are they commenting on the link between Mary Jane and terrorism? If so, the spacey and mellow tone of their music is sending mixed messages. Lastly, Monsters of Folk—comprised of two of my all-time favorite artists, Jim "Yim Yames" James and M. Ward—why? A charcoal Brady Bunch formatted portrait with a zoomed-in perspective of Mike Mogis's nose and Conor Oberst's 5 o'clock shadow is a far cry from what could've been a classic album cover.

Benjy Ferree - "Fear" (from Come Back to the Five and Dim, Bobby Dee Bobby Dee)

Show review: Vetiver at Iota, May 2nd

“Oh what a good day to go fishing,” quietly crooned Vetiver’s Andy Cabic with his eyes closed and lips quietly working around and accentuating every syllable. "I Must Be In a Good Place Now," originally recorded by Bobby Charles in 1972, was the perfect opener to a night of inspiredly lazy and breezy 60's- and 70's-era folk.

As the band’s founder and scraggly bearded songwriter, Cabic's stamp is of a timeless and oft-forgotten brand of music. In last year's covers record Thing Of The Past, Cabic dusted off a collection of buried classics like Loudoun Wainwright's "Swimming Song" and Towns Van Zant's "Standin'." What started out as a fun way to shed light on under-appreciated songwriters became something even more important for Vetiver: practice. The band, named after a grass native to India, honed their musical chops on the record and transferred those skills to this year's wonderfully crafted Tight Knit.

From "Rolling Sea"—a quiet ballad about sailing—to "Everyday"—a work of pure summer bliss—the band picked generously from Tight Knight to rock the crowd into a dreamy and tuneful haze. Even the chord-changing frenzy and swinging bass of "More Of This" and the funky psychedelia of "Another Reason To Go" couldn't shake the quiet crowd from its concentrated slumber. But that was the point: Vetiver doesn't require nor attract any hollering or drunken conversation, just an enjoyment of great songs—both old and new. The only thing missing was a couple of benches to comfortably park down on and a peace pipe to pass around.

Vetiver - "I Must Be In a Good Place Now" (from Thing Of The Past)

Brighten Your Day with...Vetiver

“Swing the bass / And the sing the praises of a love so fine,” sings Vetiver frontman Andy Cabic on the band's new album Tight Knit. The song, “More of this,” is a celebration of the narrator's last moments with someone before heading out onto the road: 

It won’t be long before I have to leave.
I could use more time alone with you.
That just might carry me through.

The song is a happy mess of dancing acoustic and electric guitars over a steady bass and popping snare drum. Cabic, a longtime collaborator of lovable oddball Devendra Banhart, steers away from his more experimental side on the record. Here, he's just having fun.  

Take a taste: 

Vetiver - "More of This" (mp3)

Buy: Amazon, iTunes