Vetiver

On previous records Vetiver's Andy Cabic was a freak-folkie who obviously owns a fat stack of awesome albums -- not bad, but not great either. With the release of Tight Knit, however, the dude is no longer a collector-nerd. This is profound landscape music, a misty coastal piedmont thoughtfully carved from the singer-songwriter's twin loves: vintage British folk and West Coast soft rock. Everything here works perfectly, from the compositions to Cabic's elegant whisper to his band's patient gait.