Saltbreakers

Listening to Veirs is like looking up into the night sky and suddenly witnessing a meteor shower: there's something startling and magical, both intimate and awesome, about her songs. The nature-obsessed images she conjures up and the mesmerizing sound she creates are as indelible as the blaze of shooting stars. Her third Nonesuch release is her most beautifully realized, band-oriented yet. Produced by Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Built To Spill), it is by turns haunting, playful, tender, and fierce, embracing everything from machine-driven beats to angelic gospel choirs to fuzzed-out guitars, and driving alt-rock rhythms.