Laura Veirs – July Flame

by Vinh on January 25th, 2010

Laura Veirs – July Flame
January 12th, 2010
Raven Marching Band Records
Score: 6.9

Rather than dissecting the ubiquitous calm before the storm, Laura Veirs’ latest full-length July Flame rests in its aftermath — “no more looking back”, she intimates on ‘Wide-Eyed, Legless’. There has always been an auspicious quality to the Portland singer-songwriter’s dainty voice and on her seventh studio outing, Veirs scales back the full-band instrumentation of recent efforts to reveal this gentle, cautious brand of hope in all of its timid glory. Of late, she has seemed more immersed in the collaborative rock approach to songwriting, and it has taken a hefty toll on her output’s charm as graceful ebbs and flows were often stifled by surplus clunk. July Flame circumvents these blemishes by paring Veirs down to her essence and handing it the reins. ‘When You Give Your Heart’ is a fine example of this restraint paying sweeping dividends, as the ditty saunters by on the strength of no more than pastoral guitar strums and Veirs’ enchantingly fey melodies. It’s the sound of spring bubbling through, of wondering what could be as you lay sprawled across the floor next to a budding better half at sunrise. As with most tales of recovery, there are bumps in the road and July Flame’s largest issue is its homogeny. The overall tone set is a winsome one to be sure, but the semi-smile this album generates does border on the saccharine after repeated listens. The dashes of vinaigrette — background vocals, percussion, strings — producer Tucker Martine sprinkles atop the chanteuse’s musings mitigate the samey flaw at times, yet they fail to form entirely distinct separation at others. Regardless, this signals the first propitious step in Veirs’ rebuilding phase. She hasn’t merely gained steadier footing here, she’s now headed in the right direction too.

Vinh Cao

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