copyright 2009, The Washington Post VANDAVEER 'Divide & Conquer' Kindred spirits: Nick Drake, Richard Thompson, Vetiver Like any folk singer worth his weight in harmonica holders, Vandaveer has spent some time borrowing from the library. Chief among the checked-out tomes: The Bible. The breathy Dylanesque folk tunes that make up 'Divide & Conquer,' the D.C.-based songwriter's second record, are rife with imagery cribbed from Testaments both Old and New. There are sacred virgins, leviathans and a prodigal child. 'I want to meet Resurrection Mary / Stand before God / Speak in tongues / Hear her stories,' he whispers on 'Resurrection Mary.' The Good Book isn't the only one on Vandaveer's nightstand, either. Vandaveer reps the Ramona Quimby series during 'Beverly Cleary's 115th Dream,' a tender piano ballad, and lifts a title from William Faulkner on the bleak and blustery 'The Sound & the Fury.' Extensive touring behind his first record, 'Grace & Speed,' has helped the singer strengthen his songwriting and bump up his street cred. A few years ago he was just a Donovan-loving vagabond dandy working the local clubs. On 'Divide & Conquer,' however, he has worked himself into a world-weary wayfaring minstrel with shoe-leather vocal cords. 