Rhapsody Reviews: Vetiver

On previous records Vetiver's Andy Cabic was a freak-folkie who obviously owns a fat stack of awesome albums -- not bad, but not great either. With the release of Tight Knit, however, the dude is no longer a talented collector-nerd. He's an artist. This is profound landscape music, a misty coastal piedmont thoughtfully carved from the singer-songwriter's twin loves: vintage British folk and West Coast soft rock. Everything here locks together perfectly, from the elegant compositions to Cabic's phantom whisper to his band's patient gait.

I entertain this theory that Vetiver's recent collaborations with Gary Louris were critical to Tight Knit's success. As his backing band for both 2008's Vagabonds album and the subsequent tour, Vetiver had to learn 25 to 30 of the ex-Jayhawks' songs. This did two things: 1) teach Cabic the nuts and bolts of songwriting as craft (think a young Hunter S. retyping The Great Gatsby) and 2) helped transform his group from a loose recording project into a real-deal touring act. It's kind of like a carpenter who has graduated from apprentice to journeyman: Vetiver now builds better, and more meaningful, folk music.