Year of Meteors

Laura Veirs | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 23, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nonesuch
• ASIN: B000A14OEC
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,652 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Fire Snakes

2. Galaxies

3. Secret Someones

4. Magnetized

5. Parisian Dream

6. Rialto

7. Through the Glow

8. Cool Water

9. Spelunking

10. Black Gold Blues

11. Where Gravity Is Dead

12. Lake Swimming

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars brand new fan, August 29, 2005

By 

MD Steven "Steven (PVM) in Asheville" (Asheville, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Year of Meteors (Audio CD)

From my first peek at the cover of Laura Veirs' new disc "Year of Meteors" I knew I would most likely like the record. She looks like a friend I've not yet hung out with but soon we will cross paths.
This is my only Laura Veirs encounter, so I open the disc and listen to it first out of a huge stack of discs needing my attention. Two songs in I realize that this will need a few more spins to fully hear it. Halfway through I hear the influences I like, yet find it wholly original.
I wonder if Laura likes Liz Phair, Suzanne Vega, or solo Kimya Dawson.
It's a little folky, some parts trippy (Steve Moore on keys), indie rocking and totally accessible pop. Eyvind Kang makes a guest appearance on viola lending some beautiful sounds with his powerful lead. He gives Parisian Dream an other worldly sound that melds perfectly with Laura's poetry
Tucker Martine produces and provides the beat. His production is a sonically beautiful wall of sound with everyone right up front. I love the mix of electric and acoustic and keyboards on "Through the Glow", it somehow reminds me of Peter Gabriel's last outing with Genesis (believe it or not) on 'Lamb Lies Down' or later on on 'So'. The phrasing is delicious throughout.
This is a mighty talented group who seem to all be on the same plain. I wonder what they have up their collective sleeves and hope they'll come through to my town.
Though I could sit down and watch em play, I'd be right up front leaning on the stage watching them putting those notes together with Laura's gorgeous poetry.

5 stars and recommended listening to fans of beautiful music.

Steven (PVM) Asheville

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spaced-out Contemporary Folk, December 20, 2005

By 

Mark D. Prouse "Dustyart" (Riverdale (Bronx), NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Year of Meteors (Audio CD)

Having loved parts of Carbon Glacier, I was curious to know what Ms. Veirs would be up to next. Well, she surpassed all my expectations, and I have gone from being a casual fan to being a really big one with the very first listen to Year Of Meteors. While it took some effort to enjoy the previous album, which is gorgeous but somehow remote and tentative, this CD asserts itself right out of the gate on the odd "Fire Snakes," with its arrangement of blips and bleeps. The set almost never lets up from there, with "Galaxies," "Where Gravity Is Dead" and "Parisian Dream" particular standouts. Comparisons by other reviewers on this page to Suzanne Vega are apt, but I think Veirs is more like Imogen Heap, with her fascination with spaced-out, electronic accompaniment and swooping, wide-ranging melodies. Laura is more deadpan in her vocal delivery (which I guess is why so many listeners thought of Ms. Vega). Very few weak moments on Year of Meteors; I highly recommended this!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mellow, rich, and moving- a good find, April 26, 2006

By 

S. Nguyen (Colorado Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Year of Meteors (Audio CD)

I received this "Year of Meteors" as a premium for becoming a member of the local NPR station. Little did I realize what a gem I had until I listened to it with an open mind- I knew immediately that it was the kind of album I've been wanting to discover in a long time.

The layered instruments and harmonic, electronic vibes lend Veirs her rich yet mellow qualities. A guitar often accompanies the fresh, fluid melodies that go remarkably well with her lyrics. The words themselves are descriptive and dreamy, easily conjuring calm images to mind. The songs overall have a unique strangeness that will be refreshing to Indie/Indiepop and singer/songwriter fans. I enjoyed it, and have been listening to several of the tracks over and over again. It's got something special!