As you may know, I was/am completely infatuated with Laura Veirs’ Saltbreakers, and I was excited to tackle Veirs’ newest EP Two Beers Veirs.  I love her dorky indie chic approach to music, and calling an EP Two Beers Veirs fits right in line.  Though I’m not as excited about this EP as I was about Saltbreakers, there are some good tracks to check out.  “Spike Drivers Blues (Mississippi John Hurt)” is a lazy Sunday-folk ditty with serene acoustic vocals and Veirs’ crooning in the foreground.  “Wildwood Flower (Irving & Webster)” is another beautiful slow-rolling folk song that seems perfect for this long weekend.

Get yourself a copy of Two Beers Veirs.

Listen to “Spike Drivers Blues (Mississippi John Hurt)” (4.6/5)

Listen to “Wildwood Flower (Irving & Webster)” (4.6/5)

Ladies and Gentlemen. I present to you the first of a multiple part series of CSV’s Top 20 of 2007 feature. Be sure to look out for the comprehensive Top 20 mix at the end of the series!

This past year has been chock full of excitingly fresh artists, while also featuring some bands and artists that have further cemented their place in the ‘indie’ rock lexicon. A trend that I noticed in copiously drafting up my list was the number of female artists that appear on this year’s top 20. I think we’re finally seeing an encouraging trend within the indie rock scene that seems to be fostering high quality female acts. That’s enough commentary, let’s get to the albums!

Today we will start with albums #16-20 and 5 honorable mentions:

16. Voxtrot – Voxtrot

This blog-hyped band really seemed primed for some indie stardom, but unfortunately their self-titled debut (after several EPs) didn’t take well with critics. Nevertheless, this underrated album is well-produced, thoughtfully constructed, and heartening. At times urgent, and at others serenadingly sweet, Voxtrot is quite the entrance for the quintet. More about Voxtrot can be found in this post.

Listen to “Ghost” (4.9/5)

17. Laura Veirs – Saltbreakers

This richly layered album from perhaps the nerdiest lady in all of indie rock has such deep imagery to match the lush, voluminous instrumentation. Saltbreakers really caught my ears by surprised, especially when I queued up “To The Country”, which (if you remember) broke the 5 point scale for CSV (it got a 5.2). What a wonderful collection of songs, that is sure to warm the soul on the coldest of these wintry days. More on Laura Veirs here.

Listen to “To The Country” (5.2/5)

18. 1990s – Cookies
By far the most downright fun album of the year,the Glasgow trio really has a knack for writing catchy riffs. While they may not be the most attractive of bands, their handsome harmonies and their jangly guitars are sure to get you rocking. “See You At The Lights” is fantastic sing-along while “You Made Me Like It” is pure formulaic goodness. More on 1990s here.

Listen to “See You At The Lights” (4.8/5)

19. Kula Shaker – Strangefolk

Veteran retro-rockers Kula Shaker take another page out of the new-to-sound-old genre (what I call Positive Retrograde), finding themselves somewhere between Bob Dylan (“Hurricane Season”) and The Rolling Stones (“Out on the Highway”). Don’t mistake this album for some hipster-wannabe product–this is just a straightforward, earnest record that consistently delivers powerful folk and rock songs track after track. Indeed, the album is a strange kind of folk–something so psychedelically delicious that even 12 tracks seems too little.

Listen to “Dr. Kitt” (4.9/5)

20. The Sea and Cake – Everybody

Chicago collective The Sea and Cake have produced another unearthly gemstone with their sensationally sensitive Everybody. The band skillfully straddles the glazey-eyed softness to their sound with thoughtful vocals, all that the band’s very name might suggest. Further solidifying themselves in the indie scene as they perfect their signature sound, The Sea and Cake continue to impress. More on The Sea and Cake here.

Listen to “Up On Crutches” (4.8/5)

Honorable Mentions:

James Morrison – Undiscovered
Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are you the Destroyer?
Art of Fighting – Runaways
Greyboy Allstars – What Happened to Television
Jose Gonzalez – In Our Nature

Live blogging has been all the rage in the blogosphere, so I’ve decided that I’m going to live blog the new album Saltbreakers by Laura Veirs (out in Europe already, due out April 10th in US).

[Queuing up the compact disc]

“Pink Light” (Track 1):
She’s got an interesting voice, can’t quite put my finger on it. The beat is kicking in now, and with some pretty awesome rhythms. I can’t resist the subtle clapping, and the guitar riff paints this under-the-stars image. Okay, she’s got me hooked……….

“Don’t Lose Yourself” (Track 3):
A trippy drum beat with a grandiose piano background. It sounds like she’s singing with herself–as if she laced two vocal tracks. I’m not as impressed with this track as the first, but at least there’s a consistent sound. Not to say it’s all the same, but there’s something to latch on to…..

“Wandering Kind” (Track 5):
I automatically think Air upon the first chords of this song. The verses seem to be building to a pretty heavy chorus, but let’s see. Yep, I was right. The chorus really gives some life to this track. I’ve noticed that there is a ton of nature imagery in Veirs’ songs. I wonder if that’s on purpose. Certainly a catchy one….

“To the Country” (Track 8):
Alright, she’s bringing the strings out on this one. Oh, and now an angelic choir is kicking in. And her voice sounds transformed in this song–enhanced, as if she’s really feeling it. This track is certainly more downtempo than the previous ones, but it’s the most captivating and mesmerizing. Now we’ve got some neat drum rhythms and clapping again….Wow, this song can really only be described as magical. Oooohs and Ahhhhs for nearly two minutes–I feel like I’m swaying back and forth with choir. I want more….

“Cast a Hook” (Track 9):
Back to a faster-paced track, I think I have heard this song before in a compilation The Sound the Hare Heard. Let me check that…yea, that’s right. This song is also ‘hooking’ me in as well, another mesmerizing track. These songs really fill up space nicely-they’re nice and roomy.

Okay, so that’s it. You’ll have to buy Saltbreakers if you want to know more.
Listen to “To the Country” (5.2/5). Sorry, it broke the scale.
Listen to “Pink Light” (4.6/5)