Pitchfork

Back in March, Pitchfork scribe Brandon Stosuy aired his hopes (amid his review of Joanna Newsom's The Milk-Eyed Mender) that Devendra Banhart and Newsom might one day join forces. "Amerilie" may not fully realize Brandon's Banhart/Newsom fantasy, but both are featured together here, their respective acoustic guitar and harp adding gracious new dimensions to singer/songwriter Andy Cabic's soft vocal textures and complex folk song structures.

Banhart gets things going with restlessly rhythmic acoustic guitar. No sooner is its sound established than a lazy violin wades through the song, followed by Newsom's radiant harp-picking. Cabic's voice equals the violin's downcast lethargy, and though it's not quite devastating, it works nicely with the strings, and contrasts well with the bright guitar and harp. With all these elements in place, Vetiver creates an atypical folk vibe of otherworldly comfort, in which a galloping satyr might join the quiet reverie occurring between your headphones.

But these pleasantries halt suddenly, replaced with something much more substantial: Newsom's harp mimics a threshold-dividing veil curling open, and as Banhart picks up an entirely new riff, Cabic reveals his dissatisfaction: "Ameriliiiiie," he struggles, "there could be a different way." This sequence repeats, and then closes as Cabic whispers an aching, "Away, away, away..." Upon second listen, one can practically hear Newsom's harp echoing beside the unaccompanied guitar intro. If nothing else, this trick provides further proof of Banhart and Newsom's growing kinship, and makes this ample tune even more mysteriously memorable.