Music Review: Vetiver, Complete Strangers

By Melissa Bratcher

Vetiver’s Complete Strangers is like a time machine. The tracks range from lo-fi synth escapades to AM radio gold with a dose of late ‘80s/early ‘90s indie rock. It feels completely familiar and quite unusual at the same time, taking classic song structures and putting them in a blender to make something wholly new.

The opening opus, the seven-minute “Stranger Still,” is immersive, an engaging ping-pong of thumps and blips, swells of synth, and Andy Cabic’s warm vocals. It’s dreamy, dancey pop, but the kind of dancing where you perhaps sway on the floor with your eyes closed and occasionally fall backwards and open your eyes and hope no one noticed. The hooky chorus has an intriguing low end that shimmers. It’s a lush jungle of chirps and knocks that unfolds in a fascinating manner.

Complete Strangers is ear candy of the finest kind. The sunny yet restrained “From Now On” sports whispery vocals that draw you in with propulsive acoustic rhythm. “Confiding” has an AM radio feeling—like a marriage of John Stewart’s “Gold” and Glenn Frey’s “You Belong To The City” (this is actually a wonderful thing). It’s urgent, with dramatic layers of vocals and synth and intermittent guitar. It erupts into a richer version of itself for a few bars, with more pronounced guitar that ramps up the tension. “Shadows Lane” wears the fine sheen of early ‘60s pop, gently swinging with placid vocals swooning over reverb-laden guitar.

“Loose Ends” is harder edged in an ‘80s college radio manner (think the Replacements or even the Del Fuegos). The chiming guitar is steeped in nostalgia, lively and reminiscent of Roger McGuinn’s imitators. “Time Flies” turns the volume down and the wayback machine to the 1960s again for a loungey, dreamy beat. It’s romantic and hushed, and quite lovely. The tropical feeling of “Current Carry,” with its chootling rhythm and steel guitar, is perfect for this luminous and sweet song. The sailing metaphors are matched with a funky bassline and bright percussion (is someone playing bottles? Why don’t more people play bottles?). It’s relaxed and delightful and fades out on a darker note. The seas aren’t always smooth.

Complete Strangers is the kind of album that stands up to repeated, obsessive listening. Touching on themes of love, transition, and vulnerability, it’s an ageless, rich record. It’s hooky, heady, and captivating.

Complete Strangers was released on March 24 by Easy Sound.

Tour Dates:
May 2: Mecca, CA @ Desert Daze Festival
May 4: Denver, CO @ Bluebird *
May 5: Omaha, NE @ Slowdown *
May 6: St.Paul, MN @ The Turf Club *
May 7: Madison, WI @ The Frequency *
May 8: Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Music *
May 9: Cleveland, OH @ The Beachland Tavern *
May 10: Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live *
May 12: Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall *
May 13: New York, NY @ The Bowery Ballroom *
May 19: Zaragoza (SP) · Centro Cívico Delicias #
May 21: Barcelona (SP) · Antiga Fàbrica Estrella Damm #
May 23: Valencia (SP) · Las Naves #
May 25: Madrid (SP) · Teatro Lara #
May 27: Espinho (PT) · Auditorio de Espinho #
May 29: Lisboa (PT) · Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa #

* = w/ EDJ
# = denotes acoustic duo shows with Devendra Banhart