Vetiver – To Find Me Gone / 2006 DiChristina / 11 Tracks / http://www.vetiverse.com / Reviewed 09 July 2006

“Been So Long” starts off “To Find Me Gone”, and the heartbeat-sounding drums that open up the track provide something tangible and earthly to the very airy and wispy vocals that flitter over them. “You May Be Blue” is a little more active in its tempo, and it has guitar lines crawling down the track like ivy on a wall; the song seems to scream American country more than anything else previously approached. Where Vetiver had seemed most comfortable in the 19th and early 20th century folk music up to this point, the inclusion of “You May Be Blue” is a step forward for the band, as it allows them to go and take influences from any segment of American folk music, instead of the narrow line that they were using during previous albums.

“No One Word” is a track that allows Vetiver to meander; the use of strings during the track provide a classical element to offset the guitar, representing a more current element in music. Vetiver comes up with a more mature sound during each of their subsequent albums. This is due to the fact that each band member is getting more comfortable with the act, and can be more bold in their playing styles as a result of that. During “Maureen”, Vetiver actually makes the externalities of their playing (the sliding of fingers along the strings) into something beautiful, an art form if you will. Each of the tracks would work as a pop radio track, in the world that has the mass of radio fans listen to NPR. The style of “The Porter” is something more than just another song on “To Find Me Gone”, as the different uses of time signatures during that track put Vetiver into almost a soundtrack mode. The interesting thing about Vetiver is that the songs do not coalesce to create a general style for the disc.

Sure, there might be similarities between the tracks, but there is a qualitatively different feel about each of these pieces that makes something that could be a thematic show (leading to an ending) into something that is more of an episodic, variety type of show. The band may not play a style of music that is readily accepted by the mainstream media, but they are almost singlehandedly crafting a genre with their own hands. The band will undoubtedly cut another album here soon; let’s hope that it is more of the same quality that we have learned to expect from the band.

Top Tracks: No One Word, Been So Long

Rating: 6.2/10

[JMcQ]