Warp And Weft by Laura Veirs.

Today I thought I would tell you about a CD that I bought last week. It is called Warp and Weft by Laura Veirs. Laura is a singer-songwriter based in Portland, Oregon USA and this is her ninth album released in 2013. One of the reasons I bought the album is because I saw Laura perform at Glastonbury in June, but I wasn’t paying attention. Her set only lasted forty minutes and I was either talking to people or going to the bar. However, I did like what I did hear and took a couple of photos, so hopefully this review will make up for my inattention. I read that this was her most successful album when it was released and was given very favourable reviews. 

The album title comes from the names of the two components of turning thread into fabric, which might be symbolic of weaving the music into her songs. The album is produced by her then husband Tucker Martine and features the likes of Neko Case, K.D.Lang and members of The Decemberists. Laura was expecting her second child while writing and recording this work, so I think a lot of songs reflected her fears of what sort of a world children would be growing up in. The opening track Sun Song displays her talent as a guitar player and singer. Neko Case sings harmony vocals. I believe this catchy song was released as a single. (I have shared an excellent video below). 

Laura Veirs, Glastonbury.

America is a much darker song, concerned with the obsession with guns. Finster is a great song about the Baptist minister and folk artist Howard Finster who created the sculpture park known as Paradise Garden. He even designed album sleeves for REM and Talking Heads. I’m not sure who inspired Dorothy Of The Island, but it has some quite dark lyrics and a chorus about motherless children. Shape Shifter reminds me of the starlings that I can see right now as I look through the kitchen window. There is a great instrumental passage in this song featuring violins, viola and cello. There are two short and sweet instrumentals on the album Ghosts of Louisville, and Ikaria, which I assume was inspired by a visit to the Aegean Sea. 

Say Darlin’ Say is adapted from a traditional lullaby which was first recorded by The Sweet Brothers in 1928. That Alice is a tribute to Alice Coltrane who as you know was the wife of John Coltrane who later became a swamini and founded her own ashram. The sound isn’t what you would expect though. It is more rock than jazz with swirling electric guitars. The most moving song on the album for me is Sadako Folding Cranes which tells the story of Sadako Sasaki who lived near the Misasa Bridge in Hiroshima. She was two years old when she was blown through a window when the atom bomb exploded. She died of radiation poisoning at the age of twelve. Before she died, she reached her target of folding 1,000 paper cranes from origami.

Sadako Sasaki.

The CD actually contains a colourful sheet of paper which you can fold into a paper crane by following Laura’s tutorial on her website. Sadako is remembered every year on the anniversary of Hiroshima. Watching the news these days with the war in Ukraine is a reminder of the danger the world still faces. Ten Bridges is another song concerned with the worry of the future. I think the ten bridges referred to must be the number of bridges over the Columbia river in Portland. The album ends on an optimistic note with White Cherry which has an almost Avant-Garde jazz sound which I really like. I’m glad I bought this album and got acquainted with the music of Laura Veirs. I don’t know if her long time fans rate it as one of her best albums, but I enjoyed it very much indeed and I’ll certainly listen to more of her music in the future.