RMB002
Release Date: 10 July 2001
"What The Triumphs & Travails of Orphan Mae shows is a young singer still just starting off on her own, marking territory. Veirs' voice has that same honest, almost girlish, quality about it that makes her so utterly likable on Carbon Glacier or Year of Meteors, and while the songwriting is perhaps a bit lyrically simpler than what's on her later records, the intimacy that Veirs is able to communicate creates a sense of fullness and completeness that even an orchestra wouldn't be able to provide" - Marisa Brown, AllMusic (2005)
"The Triumphs and Travails of Orphan Mae, from 2001, sounds essentially unplugged compared to subsequent releases. Sure, "John Henry Lives" marries Danny Barnes' scars of national steel with a Casio-derived beat, and "Raven Marching Band", with its ominous guitar line, dissolves into a static of dissident instruments. But the overall aesthetic is barebones baked in a western sun. It's the same atmosphere-- simultaneously wide-open and constrained, claustrophobic and agoraphobic-- that colors Glaciers, but here it's in service of a concrete conceit: The Triumphs and Travails of Orphan Mae, as its title implies, is a kind of musical picaresque, a loose travelogue across a hostile American landscape." - Pitchfork
"Even this early on in her career, Veirs' slightly spooked voice conveys a strong sense of place, especially when singing about her beloved wilderness in the American Northwest. And in case you're wondering, no she doesn't vote Republican. Dubbed 'art country' by a local news paper, Veirs sounds a little like Suzanne Vega might have if she'd grown up in such a place." - Jon Lusk BBC