Review:

on 2011-02-25 CharlesMartel Said:

I suppose that naming your band after a type of grass common in India and primarily grown for its aromatherapeutic purposes should have warned me of the risks of getting into some hippie tree-hugging shit. But, perhaps surprisingly, it passed my test. Six tracks downloaded and listened to and it sounded like the real deal. If you haven't heard, this is American country music without the country; it is laid back rock and roll without the rock; it has ballads but its lads have no balls; it is folk music without actually being folky. In short, this is going to be difficult to get into.

It is not as if the music is in any way objectionable or unpleasant. It isn't even that distinctively American in the sense that, say, Willie Nelson is. Despite hailing from San Francisco, Vetiver sound almost European at times. It is pretty easy to put it on and listen to it. The problem is that the enjoyment of it only lasts as long as it is playing and you are actually listening to it. Once it has finished you have pretty much forgotten about it before you have had time to get up and change the CD in the player. And if something distracts you while you are listening to it, then it is all too easy to forget where you were, and carry on doing something with the music playing in an increasingly ignored background.

As a consequence, it has been a difficult process coming to a point where I can review "Tight Knit", the band's fourth album. On first listen it seems hard to pin down anything which catches you. The characters in Vetiver's world don't really stand out and never grab your attention and hold it. The characters exist, they go about their daily business without either joy or anger, and all the while those infernally pleasant melodies and soothing voice wash over you and put you at your ease. The music seems to want to make you like it - a nice guy who never gets uptight.

For instance, listen to the opening number, "Rolling Sea". It starts off really slowly and takes a while before the music builds into full form. At the end, a delightful slide guitar hook drops by, but leaves too quickly. You keep waiting for the hook to reach its full potential but it always stops short of those final two notes to complete it. Why you ask, why? From that point on, Vetiver proceed to make the art of the musical understatement not so much as a signature, not so much as a theme, but more of a liability. It is almost as if by not going that extra half a yard, they are going to hold you and make you want to come back for more. The interplay between guitar and organ on "Through the Front Door" does not deliver a winner; "Sister" introduces you to a character but like some blind date, once you are introduced you find little to hold your interest; and "At Forest Edge" seems to perform the role of the all too obvious cliffhanger ending on daytime TV soaps.

What you are left with is a well-crafted album without anything to hold onto. At times the music is lost in its own over-subtlety. It is not a bad album but it is one which could have been so much better. It is as if the band lacked confidence in their ability to deliver and played it conservative so as not to offend. In the end, their inability to take a risk is what lets "Tight Knit" down, and that is a pity.
Rating: 6/10

Review:

on 2009-03-25 dscanland Said:

I have to agree with this review. Somehow a 3 star review is all it's worth. It's Tight Knit is not a bad album but it seem bland. For instance "Another Reason To Go" is a decent song but it really seems to drag on. I think the magic of this "freak folk" band may be gone. I'm not positive if they will be able to rebuild what they once had and not even sure if they would want to. They are moving on. I don't care for the new direction but they are indeed moving on. Good luck Vetiver.
Not Rated