Self-Titled LP Out Now On Slumberland Records
The very best type of pop music is the kind that mixes
sweetness and light with dissonance and darkness, the sort which injects a
perfectly addictive harmony with something sadder, stranger. Think of the
gloomy melodrama of “Tell Laura I Love Her”, which kickstarted the “teenage
tragedy song” craze in the 60’s, the bleak farewell of “Seasons In the Sun” in
the 70’s, even The Smiths’ “Girlfriend in a Coma” in the 80’s – all meltingly
beautiful melodies with something considerably darker lurking at its heart; the
black cloud on a summer’s day, the bruise on a perfect face. It is a long and
storied lineage, and one which London four-piece Veronica Falls are
quite happy fitting into. “We love bands like Beat Happening, Velvet
Underground, Galaxie 500 and Felt, but we also love over-emotionalism”, says
drummer Patrick Doyle. “We all originally bonded over the sinister sides to
love songs from the 50’s and 60’s.”
Welcome to the slanted and enchanted world of Veronica
Falls , where serendipity, subversion, providence, and a shared love
for Roky Erickson’s worldview all have a crucial part to play. Initially
forming two years ago when Doyle and Roxanne Clifford (guitars, vocals) moved
to London from Glasgow and met James Hoare (also on guitars and vocals) through
mutual friends, later recruiting bassist Marion Herbain. The band quickly
worked up a set of songs and released their first single on Brooklyn's Captured
Tracks. The single in question, “Found Love In a Graveyard”, is a singalong
slice of deliciously morbid pop, the breezy harmonies and chant-along choruses
slyly belying the off-kilter undercurrent of falling in love with a ghost, and
neatly set the tone for what was to follow – instantly addictive pop songs
streaked with shades of grey. Subsequent singles on taste-making labels such as
No Pain in Pop and Trouble Records, plus a series of live shows through Europe
and the US (including a fondly remembered SXSW stint this year), cemented their
arrival on the music scene.
After a stalled attempt at the recording of their debut
album at a “doomed residency at a studio in Yorkshire,” the band scrapped the
sessions entirely to re-record the songs in 3 days in London. “The previous
session ultimately sounded overproduced”, Hoare explains. “We ended up
recording live, and it was this old fashioned method which captured the sound
and feel of the band more accurately.” The resultant record is one which nails
the band’s quietly dissident colours firmly and vividly to the mast. Fans may
already be familiar with the likes of “Graveyard” and the galloping Dick Dale
meets Nico surf rocker “Beachy Head” (an ode, naturally, to the infamous
suicide hotspot), but also present and correct is an expanded sound and
emotional palette only hinted at in the past – albeit one which is always
grounded in the shadows.
“Right Side Of My Brain” is a snarling and vicious beast,
all sharp hooks and barbed wire, while “The Fountain” is more gloriously morose
yet achingly beautiful pop, with these dueling contrasts reaching its gorgeous
epitome on the astonishing “Misery,” as Clifford sings, “Misery/ It’s got a
hold of me/ misery/ my old friend” while, all around her, melting harmonies and
chiming guitars ring out, before ending abruptly in an eerie verse sung
entirely a capella. Elsewhere, the brightly scrubbed “Stephen” may be one of
the most touching declarations of friendship ever, while “The Box” is a bona
fide indie anthem in the making. Finally, “Come On Over” makes for a poignant
album closer, with its simple yet affecting refrain of “Hey, it’s getting
colder/ come on over/ until the summer/ until we’re older.”
With their debut album, Veronica Fallshave
crafted a brilliantly concise, superbly concentrated hit of spiky, marvelously
contagious indie pop with a twist – these are songs which will lodge themselves
in your head as well as your heart, with style and attitude to burn. Not that
the band are content to rest on their laurels – they’re already starting work
on a second album, which they say has them more excited than anything else
right now. If it is anything like this album, we have a lot of reason to get
excited as well.
"Bad Feeling" Video
Directed by Philippa Bloomfield
Directed by Philippa Bloomfield
US 2012 Tour Dates
02/08 - Black Cat - Washington, DC ^
02/09 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY ^
02/10 - Voyeur Nightclub - Philadelphia, PA
02/11 - Radio - Somerville, MA ^
02/13 - Belmont - Montreal, QC ^
02/14 - The Garrison - Toronto, Canada ^
02/16 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL ^
02/17 - 7th St. Entry - Minneapolis, MN *
02/20 - The Media Club - Vancouver, BC *
02/21 - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA *
02/21 - 02/26 - Noise Pop Festival - San Francisco, CA
02/22 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR *
02/24 - Rickshaw Stop - San Francisco, CA * ^
02/25 - Bootleg Theater - Los Angeles, CA *
02/27 - Casbah - San Diego, CA *
02/09 - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY ^
02/10 - Voyeur Nightclub - Philadelphia, PA
02/11 - Radio - Somerville, MA ^
02/13 - Belmont - Montreal, QC ^
02/14 - The Garrison - Toronto, Canada ^
02/16 - The Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL ^
02/17 - 7th St. Entry - Minneapolis, MN *
02/20 - The Media Club - Vancouver, BC *
02/21 - Tractor Tavern - Seattle, WA *
02/21 - 02/26 - Noise Pop Festival - San Francisco, CA
02/22 - Doug Fir Lounge - Portland, OR *
02/24 - Rickshaw Stop - San Francisco, CA * ^
02/25 - Bootleg Theater - Los Angeles, CA *
02/27 - Casbah - San Diego, CA *
^with Brilliant Colors
*with Bleached
*with Bleached
No comments:
Post a Comment