Vetiver

With acts like Band of Horses, Grand Archives, and Fleet Foxes already on board, Seattle-based indie label Sub Pop seems to have firmly established itself as the leading purveyor of country-tinged folk-pop played by sensitive, bearded guys from the Pacific Northwest. Thus, it hardly seemed like a radical departure for Sub Pop to release Vetiver's latest album, Tight Knit, a solid collection of country-tinged folk-pop songs played by sensitive, bearded guys from (here's the novel part) San Francisco. Expanding your geographical boundaries is always a solid business move, and Sub Pop has definitely chosen wisely with Vetiver. Fronted by singer-songwriter Andy Cabic, Vetiver doesn't try to reinvent the wheel on Tight Knit, but they put enough of a spin on the indie folk-pop mold to keep things interesting. With its electronic drums and lazy tempo, "On the Other Side" sounds as though it could be an Eels outtake, while funky wah guitar and horns give "Another Reason to Go" an unexpected bounce. Vetiver probably won't have a horn section with them on their current tour, but Cabic has assembled a solid backing band featuring cellist Alissa Anderson to add another layer to the standard guitars, bass, and drums.