BAEBLE SESSIONS: Vedera at The Guest Apartment

Last month Kansas City quartet Vedera swung by the Guest Apartment, breaking a few songs from their slick stock of heartfelt rock and roll down into their organic components. Where their recently released album Stages is the product of the kind of production most bands only dream of, songs like "Satisfy", "Loving Ghosts", and "A World Apart" leave the electricity, the processing, and the glowing ambience behind. Instead, guitarist Brian Little favors the acoustic guitar, Jason Douglas dials his bass work back just a bit, and drummer Drew Little provides the rhythmic flourishes via an Afro-Peruvian drum called a cajon. The result is a set of scaled back songs that focus on Kristin May's lovely, sometimes lilting vocals. It's a bit more informal than their album, sure. But the results are no less endearing. - David Pitz