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My first encounter with The Veils was in 2004, via the lush and dreamy single Lavinia (the strings in this song still pwn every other indie ballad ever written). Years passed before I returned to them, but return to them I did. A couple of months ago.

Their debut album The Runaway Found gathered rave reviews and went on to sell Gold worldwide. But the prodigious, 18-year-old lead singer-songwriter Finn Andrews (the son of keyboardist Barry Andrews) felt alienated from the rest of the band and uncomfortable under a major label. So he did what any self-respecting frontman would do and "fired" (read: parted ways with) the original members. He then got together with his old schoolmates from New Zealand, who shared his artistic vision, and brought The Veils back to life. Under the independent Rough Trade Records two more critically acclaimed albums – titled Nux Vomica (2006) and Sun Gangs (2009) – were released. And I am the lucky owner of all of them now.


The first line-up, 2001-2004


Finn Andrews in the Lavinia video, 2003

How do they sound?
Well, basically... The Runaway Found can be described as kind of a cocktail of the best bits offered by the late 90s/new millenium britrock mercenaries Placebo, Travis and Suede, with a tinge of Stereophonics mixed in. Only, these songs appear to be more fully rounded and melodically developed than most of the album material from the aforementioned acts. Which is the first sign that The Veils are not a singles’n’fillers band. Nux Vomica changes direction considerably and draws influences from blues and gothic-Americana - Tom Waits and Nick Cave. It is a lot more confident and colourful album, from a group (and the frontman), who have carved out their identity and therefore feel relaxed doing what they’re doing. There is a sense of the devil being present on this record... perhaps the twisted side of Finn. Their resent LP Sun Gangs borrows from the two previous, yet howls as an altogether new animal – slower, somber and even psychedelic.



I love how all three albums have different stylistics and how they enable Finn to vary the rich tone of his voice according to the atmosphere of the songs. The strained "grunge-voice" works perfectly for The Runaway Found, the Jimi Hendrix-esque theatrics spice up Nux Vomica and the raw, sultry vocals keep Sun Gangs close to the ground.



I definitely seem to be developing a very intimate connection to these songs, because they’re so personal to the person, who’s singing them, and because he’s so convincing in his delivery. He makes them personal to the listener as well.



Wires To Flying Birds is so precious. It’s a fitting adjective for all of this music, in fact – precious. Even when he’s screaming, it’s precious. I am fond of contrasts, and Finn Andrews is no exception. His songs can gallop upliftingly, yet come with dark, boisterous lyrics; his voice, like a cruel whip at one moment, can turn sweet and playful the next, plus everything in between. It is remarkable - I’ve rarely heard emotional range of such magnitude in a pop/rock singer’s voice and I’ve listened to a lof of these singers in my life. He has me in his pretty little musical grip and I don’t want to be released. I also think that his bisexuality (too much Rufus Wainwright flavour for a completely straight cat, lol) allows him to lace his voice with very tender emotion, particularly naked and noticeable in a track called It Hits Deep (my favourite The Veils song and MY song in general – I can’t live without this song). In other places, the daggers-through-honey vocals carry their own staggering effect. It is refreshing how he’s bitching about women in Pan: "...you ain’t nothing but a child..." Usually, this "job" in popular music is reserved for female performers (think: Beyoncé), so it comes as a welcomed change to hear a guy shoot a few arrows towards the opposite gender. The bouncing Advice For Young Mothers To Be (sung from a female perspective) is (as Finn has mentioned) more pro-babies than anti-babies, but mostly about how women have the right to do whatever they wish with their bodies. The mythological connotations of Three Sisters leave me ponder over the rest of the ambiguous imagery he weaves with his lyrics. Whereas Jesus For The Jugular and Nux Vomica drip with pure sexual power of rock’n’roll. More Heat Than Light is massive. As far as I’m concerned, though, he could record a whole album of ballads from the flowing epic-ness of The Leavers Dance to the sensual poetry of Under The Folding Branches and The House She Lived In.



Most songs are built upon memorable, catchy melodies, but it is Andrews’ voice that is absolutely the main attraction of The Veils. Evocative and empathic, it reaches the deepest parts of your soul. His voice has an undeniable crooner’s charm to it that betrays his ironic sense of humour – it’s as if he’s hinting that even very depressing matters can be tackled from an angle that does not weigh you down. I adore this kind of approach. It makes you really feel the heaviness of the moments when he’s fully serious (for example, Scarecrow).



If I met Finn somewhere, I’d gush all over him for his singing alone. Sometimes it is indeed better to be shy and mysterious. When it comes to songwriting, there’s always room to grow, but honestly, he hasn’t put a foot wrong so far and I hope it remains that way. It sucks to become a fan of someone just when they start going downhill. There are artists whose better years are behind them with their first albums and there are artists who mature and improve over time much like fine wine. And I feel that he is one of the latter. For now, there appear no signs of mr. Andrews resigning his position as the "grand prima donna of emotional rock" – deliciously androgynous and seductive. And he doesn’t need to "explain his persona" to the public either; if you listen carefully enough, he does that in his music.



In general, it is hard to find anything that moves me thoroughly and consistently. I would never turn away from music made with such obvious passion. Add the layered textures and themes and the overall timeless quality, and it becomes a treasure of sorts.The Veils have arrived to stay in my jukebox.




And it's not for our desires but our design that we all fall apart – The Leavers Dance


Tracklist

The Wild Son
Guiding Light
Lavinia
More Heat Than Light
The Tide That Left and Never Came Back
The Leavers Dance
Talk Down the Girl
The Valleys of New Orleans
Vicious Traditions
The Nowhere Man
... & One Of Us Must Go (bonus track)
Wires to Flying Birds (bonus track)

9/10








I'm as happy as a fawn, now only the beauty of the world delays me – Advice For Young Mothers To Be


Tracklist

Not Yet
Calliope!
Advice for Young Mothers to Be
Jesus for the Jugular
Pan
A Birthday Present
Under the Folding Branches
Nux Vomica
One Night on Earth
House Where We All Live
Night Thoughts of a Tired Surgeon (bonus track)

9/10








Go wash your heart in the river 'till the water runs clear – The Letter


Tracklist

Sit Down by the Fire
Sun Gangs
The Letter
Killed by the Boom
It Hits Deep
Three Sisters
The House She Lived In
Scarecrow
Larkspur
Begin Again

9/10







Finn Andrews & Sophia Burn on stage