Laura Veirs: Saltbreakers

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Genevieve Koski wrote in The A.V. Club: "Laura Veirs has always been a stronger lyricist than she is a singer, guitar player, and bandleader: Her albums are loaded with more wordplay than you can shake a Roget's at. Though her folk-pop songs sometimes tread dangerously close to sad-girl-with-a-guitar territory, they're inevitably buoyed by shimmering instrumentation and ethereal delivery. Her last album, 2005's excellent Year Of Meteors, was a great leap forward, as she and her … backing band, The Tortured Souls, finally gelled. … The Tortured Souls … are now called Saltbreakers, but the chemistry remains on Veirs' new Saltbreakers. Continuing Meteors' affinity for lush, catchy riffs, Saltbreakers' music-to-lyrics quality ratio is nearly perfect. … Saltbreakers … sees Veirs venturing further sonically, experimenting with male backup vocals … choir arrangements … and subtle horns. … These elements add new layers to Veirs' established sound, while retaining her trademark intimate feel. … Saltbreakers is exceptionally strong, and it shows Veirs has more than just poetic whimsy up her sleeve" (4/10/07).