Laura Veirs Saltbreakers 180g LP

With organic imagery and a sense of open-eyed, open-hearted wonder, Laura Veirs' songs seem to hover between the sea and the stars taking inspiration from each. Though "To the Country" is the undisputed highlight here, featuring a luminous call-and-response with the Cedar Hill Choir and guest guitar from Bill Frisell, Veirs extends her range from the soul groove of the title track to the propulsive rock of "Phantom Mountain."

Produced by Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Built To Spill), Saltbreakers is by turns haunting, playful, tender, and fierce, embracing everything from machine-driven beats to angelic gospel choirs to fuzzed-out guitars.

This remains at its essence an album of beguiling, rain-splashed intimacy.

Full of enough emotional peaks and valleys to satisfy even the most temperamental music fan.