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Seattle strummer Laura Veirs scored a sweet deal with Nonesuch last year when they re-released her Carbon Glacier disc, but had a hard time finding the same love domestically she gets in the UK. Let’s hope the combo of a high-profile tour with Sufjan Stevens and the chilled, polished grace of the fantastic songs on Year Of Meteors gets her the respect she deserves. Veirs indulges her fascination with the natural world here, describing human relations in volcanic ash and shooting star metaphors that are far stronger than the writing on Carbon Glacier. But the best part is the symbiotic relationship she has with producer Tucker Martine, who adds icy dimensions to Veirs’s unpretentious tunes with electronic blips that perfectly match her galactic narratives. His waves of jittery keyboards and glittering erhu-like effects provide a neat contrast to her clean, vibrato-free vocals, while raw, crunchy electric guitars give a nod to Veirs’s college-punk roots. Stunning.
Laura Veirs joins Sufjan Stevens at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre September 10.
