she took my hand and now there’s no other
I’m not sure how I’ve lasted this long writing this blog without professing my love for The Veils. It’s preposterous, really. The London-based band led by New Zealand native Finn Andrews definitely make it onto my list of Top 10 Modern Bands. I fell in love with their raw, passionate songs bursting with gothic undertones around the time of Nux Vomica’s release in 2007. I was sure that that album would catapult them into stardom, but for some reason they’ve never had much luck with that. Still, they have a decently-sized devoted underground following, some of whom I saw emerge from the depths at a tiny bar show in Vancouver back in 2008. Known for their intense performances and Finn’s cryptic stage presence, The Veils absolutely tore up the Biltmore Cabaret and left the audience in shambles before the headlining act went on. Hands down, one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
The band has been pretty quiet since 2009’s Sun Gangs (a great album which has only one flaw: it’s not Nux Vomica), but this year saw the release of some new material with an EP entitled Troubles of the Brain. Even though I like my Veils pretty rough around the edges, this new relatively delicate quality has really grown on me. This is a solid EP from one of the most painfully underrated bands of today… sadly, it might be quite awhile until we see another full-length. I’ll take what I can get.
mp3: The Veils - Bloom from the Troubles of the Brain EP
mp3: The Veils - The Wishbone from the Troubles of the Brain EP
I played this song for one of the teens that comes to the youth centre I work at. Captivated, she said, “What do you even call this? What genre is it?” Even though I’ve been devouring “Jesus For The Jugular” on a regular basis for the last four years, I still have no idea how to answer that question. Maybe I’ll just christen it the rips your fucking heart out and gives you the best kind of creeps genre.
mp3: The Veils - Jesus For The Jugular from Nux Vomica
From their debut… I’m such a sucker for strings:
mp3: The Veils - Lavinia from The Runaway Found
