More of the Past - EP

iTunes Review

Just as 2008's Thing of The Past found freak-folk darlings Vetiver covering record collection rarities culled from years of sifting through used vinyl, More of The Past bestows fans who couldn't get enough the first time with five more covers. A more dynamic rendition of the Wizards' "See You Tonight" opens with rootsy power pop gusto and boyish vocal harmonies from guests Jonathan Rice and "Farmer" Dave Scher of Beachwood Sparks fame. Titus Turner's "Hey Doll Baby" gets a lazier back porch treatment, sounding like a softened version of the Everly Brothers' rockabilly take on it from 1960's The Fabulous Style Of The Everly Brothers. A Vernon Claud and Jerry Organ number entitled "Before The Sun Goes Down" gets a country-folk rendition that stays true to the sloppy jalopy version heard on Banana and the Bunch's 1972 album Mid-Mountain Ranch, and the band also doesn't veer too far from Nils Lofgren & Grin's "Just To Have You," a lost gem from the 1973 All Out sessions which bounces with giddy adoration and a chorus catchier than cactus needles. Folk revivalist Gordon Bok's "Hills of Isle Au Haut" gets an upgrade with Vetiver's signature languid pace and frontman Andy Cabic's soothing singing style.