North Carolina's Raymond Brake, fronted by singer-songwriter Andy Cabic,
released the album
Piles of Dirty Winters (Simple Machines, 1995),
reminiscent of Polvo's and Archers of Loaf's alt-rock.
Relocated to San Francisco, Cabic formed
Vetiver, which
specialized in neo-hippy psychedelic-tinged chamber folk music.
Cabic employed a trio of acoustic guitar, violin and cello for
Vetiver (DiCristina Stair Builders, 2004), featuring guest appearances
by the likes of Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval,
and My Bloody Valentine's Colm O'Ciosoig.
Despite the arsenal of collaborations, the result is generally subdued and gentle. Highlights include:
the neoclassical cello-driven Amerilie;
the lively choral folk singalong Amour Fou;
the vocal harmonies of Farther On, halfway between blues and doo-wop;
and
the mildly anthemic, strings-driven and poppy Luna Sea.
The On A Nerve, perhaps meant as a centerpiece, is simply overlong and verbose.
The overcrowded psychedelic-folk scene of the mid 2000s hardly had room for
recordings such as the lo-fi EP Between (DiCristina Stair Builders, 2005), with the original version of Been So Long.
However,
To Find Me Gone (Di Christina, 2006) boasted a full-time
rhythm section and therefore a more robust sound, occasionally approaching
the of plaintive 1970s country-rock (Won't Be Me, the seven-minute
and album standout Red Lantern Girls,
Down at El Rio), although Alissa Anderson's flute and cello provided
a bridge to the first album's more transcendental atmospheres (No One Word).
The psychedelic-folk movement is rediscovering the wheel that Crosby, Stills,
Nash and Young discovered in 1969.
Things Of The Past (Gnomonsong, 2008) is a cover album.
Tight Knit (Sub Pop, 2009) was not a cover album but sounded like one.
This is truly a collection of leftovers from the first two albums, aptly reworked
in the vein of the classics that Vetiver had to memorize for the previous album.
Their "freak" component was never as high as with other freak-folk acts,
and this album virtually erased it, leaving a gentle flow of instrumental and
vocal syrup that is the equivalent of lounge music for psychedelic folk.
Rolling Sea is the best in this mellow mode, while
More of This is the exception to the rule that could have been the
template for a much more exciting album.
The Errant Charm (Sub Pop, 2011) was an equally slick tribute to the
age of bubblegum hits (Ride Ride Ride above all).
They changed again style on Complete Strangers (2015), becoming a spartan, mellow, folk-rock act with minimal accompaniment.
The songs of Up On High (2019) are gentle country-rock lullabies
in the vein of latter-day
Byrds,
but this time the atmosphere is at least magical.
