Veronica Falls / S/t

Slumberland

The very best pop music mixes sweetness and light with dissonance and darkness, 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 ’60s, the bleak farewell of “Seasons in the Sun” in the ’70s, even The Smiths’ “Girlfriend in a Coma” in the ’80s—all meltingly beautiful melodies with something considerably darker lurking at their hearts; the black cloud on a summer’s day, the bruise on a perfect face. It’s into this long and storied lineage that London four-piece Veronica Falls quite happily fit. “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 ’50s and ’60s.” Welcome to the slanted and enchanted world of Veronica Falls, where serendipity, subversion, providence and a shared love for Roky Erickson’s worldview all play a crucial part.  After a stalled attempt recording their debut album at a studio in Yorkshire, Veronica Falls scrapped the sessions entirely to re-record the songs in three days in London. Guitarist and vocalist James Hoare explains, “We ended up recording live, and it was this old-fashioned method which captured the sound and feel of the band.” The result nails the band’s quietly dissident colors 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 here the sound and emotional palette are expanded—though still 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. These dueling contrasts reach a gorgeous epitome on the astonishing “Misery,” as guitarist / vocalist Roxanne 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.

Veronica Falls - Come On Over by Slumberland Records

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