Laura Viers offers a haunting mix of deadpan folk and blues with sparse arrangements and Pacific Northwest flavors. Bella Union. 2005.
The first thing you need to know about this 2001 debut by Seattle-based singer songwriter Laura Viers is that it isn't as good as her 2004 masterpiece Carbon Glacier. Given its first UK release now as a result of the success of that record, The Triumphs And Travails Of Orphan Mae is a comparatively slight work, which nonetheless offers a fascinating glimpse of Veirs' nascent talent.
Even this early on in her career, Veirs' slightly spooked voice conveys a strong sense of place, especially when singing about her beloved wilderness in the American Northwest. And in case you're wondering, no she doesn't vote Republican. Dubbed 'art country' by a local news paper, Veirs sounds a little like Suzanne Vega might have if she'd grown up in such a place.
The two albums share the same subtly inventive producer in Tucker Martine, string arrangements by Eyvind Kang and a generally sparse, largely acoustic ambience, occasionally illuminated with subtle electronica. But only "John Henry Lives" and "Raven Marching Band" offer flashes of the luminescent imagery she maintains throughout Carbon Glacier. A few of the songs are twee ditties; she's still rhyming 'remember' with 'December' (in "Through December") and only beginning to find her feet as a singer.
For Carbon Glacier fans, ...Orphan Mae is a flawed but often fascinating snapshot of Veirs' developing muse. But if you haven't already got the wonderful album her reputation rightly rests on, buy that first.
Reviewer: Jon Lusk
2004's Carbon Glacier, the debut album from Seattle singer/songwriter Laura Veirs, drew critical praise from 'adult' music titles and broadsheet press alike.
The Triumphs And Travails Of Orphan Mae collects together songs originally written in 2001. The sparse production is apt given Veirs grew up in the shadow of the Colorado Rocky Mountains or, as 'Orphan Mae' puts it, "Somewhere in the desert, near a mountain is the place of my birth".
Banjo, acoustic, and steel guitar dominate but this isnt a country and western album. Triumphs... flits between blues and folk. Dance beats underpin 'John Henry Lives', and there's a trip-hop vibe on 'Montague Road' which lends it a ghostly atmosphere. This feeling permeates throughout; 'Black Eyed Susan' could very well be a ghost story and 'Through December' sounds as chilling as the oncoming winter it namechecks.
Yet, there is real warmth to Triumphs.... Veirs' vocals sound crystal clear but have real depth and her storytelling style paints vivid pictures of myths and fables from the American west. It's a storybook in song form and a thoroughly absorbing one at that.
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