Rarely does one listen to something and immediately know that the rest of the year is going to be just peachy. There's something about Laura Veirs' unassuming way of constructing a song out of what seems like a dead end that made Year of Meteors my soundtrack of 2005. Obviously, it didn't help at all that this was the first piece of her work that I was listening to, but I guess, in retrospect, that wouldn't have made a difference anyways.

The effortless, flowing movements that don't demand your attention but make their presence felt nevertheless put together the tiny details that collectively make the listening more worthwile than anything else you were doing. In Magnetized she puts together the eternal sunshine of a simple folk guitar and the picture of love in turmoil in almost Cat Power-esque exquisiteness. Which is not to say that the creation is more inspired than original. In Spelunking she tries once again to oversimplify her fear of commitment, and once again, it works. Even when she tries to punk-up her sound on Black Gold Blues it doesn't sound forced at all.

The first time I heard this record, I had it on loop for five plays. I'll be honest. If you haven't heard this yet, the rest of your year isn't going to be what it could.