Vetiver is the musical project of Andy Cabic. Creating gorgeous indie folk songs, his last album was 7 years ago and I wonder if it will be his last. I hope he is spending time slowly working on some new songs as he has said before he’s not a prolific writer. I know how that goes myself.
At any rate, we have his wonderful back catalogue to listen to, including 2019’s Up On High. There’s several songs I love from this album (‘All We Could Want’, ‘Lost In Your Eyes’) but ‘Wanted, Never Asked’ is a favourite. The guitars on this album are recorded with such warmth and clarity – it’s honestly a joy to listen to through headphones.
We start with the hum of an organ, before a gorgeous, ringing guitar sets up the song, with the drums delayed by a few bars. The lead guitar melody is upbeat and hooks you in. Andy’s vocal glides over the music:
Once a songbird caught me by surprise
With the strength of its singing
A bright call took flight, pierced the air
Like a lone bell a-ringingWhat’s past is past
Wanted, never asked
The use of backing vocals in the chorus is an exceptionally good choice, adding some tension while the drums drop back slightly. This is resolved by the guitar hook. The acoustic guitar is in the foreground throughout the song which makes it feel almost intimate, you can hear the sound of the pick on the strings.
Lyrically the song is about coming to terms with a situation or relationship that’s ended, perhaps they’ve misjudged things which led to its demise. The moment to repair things has gone, even if you wanted to, everything remains unsaid. These things can take their time to heal and often linger.
There’s a short bridge before the final, extended chorus, with an instrumental section to build up that tension again. I can hear the organ under here and the instrumentation builds up to the chorus and the final hook. It’s a beautiful way to end the song as everything hums together for the final note.