Vetiver's Andy Cabic comes off as the quiet lieutenant in Devendra Banhart's bearded freak-folk militia.

NPR: Vetiver: Shaggy Folk, Dug Out Of Amber

Vetiver's first two albums featured contributions from Banhart while fitting in well next to his shaggy, communal-sounding recordings.

NPR: Vetiver: Shaggy Folk, Dug Out Of Amber

Covers can feel slight or overly earnest, but Vetiver infuses Thing of the Past with warm, lived-in nostalgia.

NPR: Vetiver: Shaggy Folk, Dug Out Of Amber

There is the Insomnia Relief Scent Inhaler (lavender, rosemary, chamomile and vetiver, a grass root) from Earth Solutions of Atlanta.

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Jumping trains and drinking whiskey figure into Adams' words, but Vetiver seems more interested in a feeling than a message.

NPR: Vetiver: Shaggy Folk, Dug Out Of Amber

For four bucks you can pick up the Insomnia Relief Scent Inhaler (lavender, rosemary, chamomile and vetiver, a grass root) from Earth Solutions of Atlanta.

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It was later covered by Ronnie Lane of The Faces, and Vetiver's recording gives the song a feeling of having been handed down over generations.

NPR: Vetiver: Shaggy Folk, Dug Out Of Amber

Nicholas Rushlow, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Lancaster, Ohio, was eliminated when he misspelled "vetiver, " an aeromatic grass whose especially fragrant root yields an oil used in perfumery and mats in India.

CNN: June 1, 2012 -- Updated 1329 GMT (2129 HKT)

Cabic and Banhart draw inspiration from the same set of obscure late-'60s British folk songs, and while Vetiver's music has always sounded as if it were dug out of amber, on Thing of the Past Cabic turns to his record collection for material, not just guidance.

NPR: Vetiver: Shaggy Folk, Dug Out Of Amber