In some ways, it's funny that I've followed along with Laura Veirs in the way that I have. I got into her through her first widely-available record, Troubled By The Fire, which I still think is by far her best - it has a kind of crystalline plangency, a simplicity and a clarity which is delightful. But the next two, Carbon Glacier and Year of Meteors (excluding Orphan Mae, which actually predates TBTF but only got a wide release after Carbon Glacier hit), are quite different, and while they're both pleasant and interesting, and have some good moments ("Salvage A Smile" is a fave), neither especially excites me. Saltbreakers is much in the vein of Veirs' latter-day style, and while it's probably the best of the post-TBTF records, I suspect it may be the last of hers that I'll automatically buy...it's good but there just isn't enough sparkle.
Live: 29/5/05; 20/1/07 (I've just noticed how enthusiastic I was about her again in the immediate aftermath of that more recent show, which wasn't even that good...so perhaps it'll prove cyclic).
