Veronica Falls
Veronica Falls is an indie-pop/twee quartet from London. When I wrote about them last February, I pointed out that their self-titled debut record was my third favorite non-Canadian album of 2011. This has already been a very, very good year in new releases, but I think that this new one will probably also end up in my top five of 2013. The new ones by My Bloody Valentine, Bleeding Rainbow, and The History of Apple Pie are all early favorites, with m b v already locked into the top two.
Just as with the last album, it’s pretty clear with this one that they’re heavily influenced by Galaxie 500, and by Joy Division, and also by Camera Obscura. The guitar bits are bright and sparkly and the co-ed vocal harmonies are superb. At the same time, the bass parts keep it grounded and ensure that it’s actually more “dark” than “shiny”.
The album was released last Monday in the UK on Bella Union Records, which is owned and operated by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins. It will have a North American release this coming Tuesday on Slumberland Records. Our good friends at Slumberland are really awesome at shipping stuff out ahead of the street date, so I got my physical copy in the post yesterday. I’ve listened to it three (ish) times through, and I’m completely smitten by it.
The first time I listened to the album was while I was at work this morning. I was really enjoying the album. When I got to the last song, I was completely knocked off my pegs. “Last Conversation” is by a long way my favorite song on the album. Outside of Throwing Muses records, it’s not often that I find an album-closing song to be my favorite, but it is in this case. It is not, however, your song du jour.
This is.
“Buried Alive” by Veronica Falls
Bury me alive
I don’t care if people cry
Bury me aliveI wanna get sick
I wanna catch everything you’ve ever caught
And then, later in the song:
Bury me alive
Set me adrift
and hope the tide doesn’t bring me in
That’s some pretty macabre stuff, but then again, this is the same band with the amazing song “Found Love in a Graveyard”. Like a lot of their songs, the dark tone is offset by the peppiness of the song and the brightness of the guitar. It’s a delicate balance, and somehow they always manage to craft songs about death and dying that you still want to bob your head to.
This is a really good song, but I seriously urge you to look out for the last song on the album — “Last Conversation”. When you buy your copy of the album, listen to it once on real speakers, then on a quality set of headphones. I promise that you’ll be blown away by the album-closer. Still, though, tonight’s song also leaves a lot to write home about.
Of course digital copies can be bought from your normal legal digital download shops. However, I will (almost) always urge the purchase of a physical copy. I will also suggest buying it as close to the source as possible. If you live in the US or Canada, order your physical copy of Waiting for Something to Happen from Slumberland Records here. If you’re lucky, they’ll include stickers and badges and
other fun stuff. If you live anywhere else in the world, order your physical copy from Bella Union here.
Veronica Falls will be touring the UK for the rest of February. They’ll play 17 North American dates in March, but none closer to me than opening night in DC. After that, a European tour throughout the dark months of April and May.
this is that song 