"Carbon Glacier," Veirs' last album, was an album that sounded a lot better than it was. Despite some immature songwriting she managed to craft an album that sounded like it was birthed in the middle of an iceberg. She had an ear for layering instruments that made the album compelling, at least until the songwriting flaws started surfacing. Indeed, even with the flaws I compared her a bit with Sufjan Stevens insofar as initial listens yield similar results. Repeated listens reveal Stevens as the far better songwriter, however, there was definitely room for Veirs to become something much better.
So it is understandable that I had high expectations for "Year of Meteors." Those were, I am sad to conclude, dashed. Taken as a whole, "Year of Meteors" is a more solid album. There is better songwriting present. Unfortunately, it's not the great leap forward one would hope for. Instead of Veirs coming into her own as a songwriter, it is "Carbon Glacier" part 2 with some maturity added in like someone might add spices to a soup.
The album is warmer sounding, which makes it feel more common. Hearing the chill of her prior album was somehow more satisfying, even with the annoying immature songwriting issues. People not familiar with "Carbon Glacier" will probably find this album to be fairly enjoyable. However, to me, it seems like this cd takes one step forward, two steps back.
It is still obvious that Veirs has a lot of potential. Hopefully in the next year or two everything will click with her and she will blow us all away. Until then, she is definitely worth the listen and more deserving of many other artists to sell cds. To everyone else this album will probably be viewed as a joy. For me, though, it finds it's self to be a bit of a disappointment.
2.5/4
Similar sounding releases
1998Sean LennonInto the Sun
2005John VanderslicePixel Revolt
2000Blonde RedheadMélodie Citronique
2005Vox VermillionStanding Still You Move Forward
2001Sam PhillipsFan Dance
2005LornaStatic Patterns and Souvenirs
