Laura Veirs: Warp and Weft

At first, Warp and Weft doesn’t seem all that different from Laura Veirs’ past releases. From the first strums of the guitar, it’s clearly a Laura Veirs record. Her melodic senses are still dead-on—fluctuating from gentle to vibrant at a moment’s notice while her ever-soothing voice is as strong as can be. Displaying more of her raucous side, Warp and Weft is filled with tracks that easily find themselves among the best of her impressive catalog and manage to exceed expectations.

Trading in her acoustic guitar and sparse arrangements from her last album, July Flame, Veirs opts for an electric guitar and larger arrangements that make Warp and Weft’s energy reminiscent of 2007’s Saltbreakers while holding onto the folk influences she is known for. Upright bass, violin, pedal steel and various other instruments make fitting appearances throughout the album along with distorted guitars and keyboards to create an atmosphere that continually changes, offering one melodic line after the next.

The band’s foundation is made up by Karl Blau on bass and Carl Broemel of My Morning Jacket on guitar, while Veirs’ husband Tucker Martine (who also acts as producer) shares drum and percussion duties with Steve Nistor. Numerous others are featured, including a few members of The Decemberists and guest vocalists kd lang, Neko Case, and Jim James.

On the album opener, “Sun Song,” Veirs sings praises about the sun’s warmth after a cold winter. Neko Case lends her sonorous voice to make an absolutely brilliant pairing that only begs the question, “Why hasn’t this happened before now?” (And if it has, then where have I been?!)

“America” picks right up with a driving guitar line and thundering drums that never stop as Veirs laments over the current state of the union with lines like: “The cart has come unhitched from the horse in America / Down the hill and off the course of America / Founding fathers roll in their graves in America.”