It was a trip to Real Groovy on the first day this album came out for me, I raced back to the car, eager to find inspiration in The Veil’s new album “Sun Gangs”. I have always been so moved by the sparse, reverb drenched music of The Veils – Finn Andrew’s compositions have a mystery about them that leaves me pouring over the tracks repeatedly.
The new album is just as inspiring – musically, it seems fuller and somehow more bold than previous albums with some Celtic influences coming through. It’s full of hypnotic rises and falls, making for a huge sound that’s as uplifting as it is unsettling at times. While all tracks are definitely The Veils, there’s a good balance of dark, light and different across the album “Sit down by the fire” and “the letter” are the more warm and lively with “Killed by the boom” and “three sisters” being heavier, with clever arrangement and effected guitar riffs. The hypnotic “Larkspur” is a stunner, a haunting cyclical beast which leaves you with chills. The rest of the tracks are more subtle, slow burners sung with the calming version of Andrew’s voice.
Like the music, Andrew’s poetic lyrics come through in different textures – from the cutting in “killed by the boom” to the hypnotic in “Larkspur” to the soft storytelling in the quieter tracks. I was particularly blown away by the heartfelt imagery in “Sit down by the fire”, one part engrained itself in my mind for quite some time “my father’s singing in the falling leaves, about the complicated beauty of a river run dry”.
This album brings together some Celtic, almost war-like infused rock, beautiful piano and guitar layers (also with a helping of the heavy) with clever arrangement, and of course the genius of Finn Andrew’s song writing. It’s an epic, inspiring listen for those who like to be rewarded for listening carefully – definitely recommend it.
