Laura Veirs - Year of Meteors

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A bigger noise

Nonesuch Records - 2005 - 47 minutes

Laura Veirs' fifth album again takes its inspiration from nature, but this time makes a bigger noise.

You get a real sense of awe listening to Veirs sing about space and natural phenomena. Her use of lines like "Galaxies pour down my cheeks" gives you a feeling of the vastness of nature, a theme she returns to throughout the album.

2004's 'Carbon Glacier' was a quiet affair, with less emphasis on the sound of the album. 'Year of Meteors', though, makes the music a much bigger piece of the puzzle. The sound is more varied here, with electric guitar twangs combining with the almost cosmic, fleeting notes of other instruments. This is a good thing, as 'Carbon Glacier' could have done with more noise, as it were.

Veirs' poetics mark her as a competent songwriter with an interesting take on things. 'Year of Meteors' should more than please her fans.

Katie Moten

Tracklisting: Fire Snakes - Galaxies - Secret Someones - Magnetized - Parisian Dream - Rialto - Through the Glow - Cool Water - Spelunking - Black Gold Blues - Where Gravity is Dead - Lake Swimming