Review: Veronica Falls – S/T
Veronica Falls – S/T (2011) [Slumberland] // Grade: B+
Finally. After two years of singles and a healthy bit of buzz, UK quartet Veronica Falls lets loose with a full-length — and yes, it’s just as great as everyone hoped.
But make no mistake: Despite the band’s general association with beach-pop, surf-pop, gloom-pop, indie-pop and/or twee, Veronica Falls is only some of those things, some of the time. It’s just as heavy on a Mamas & Papas vibe as it is C86-era jangle, and the ghostly lyrics — several times actually about ghosts — lend the thing a deadly, foreboding air. Somehow, it manages to feel haunted without being haunting; a collection of songs dark at their heart, for sure, but with the sort of lithe athleticism that startles even the most suicide-laden lyrics into quick and jittery motion.
Credit that to the sheer musicianship. Not to make small work of the atmosphere — so much of the album would be lost without the glistening nostalgia and impeccably clean production — but it’s the physical acts that truly make it shine. The lightspeed guitar work and exacting drums, both so utterly precise, underscore the hazy three-part harmonies (see aforementioned Mamas & Papas vibe) and melodies so warm and simple, it’s like you’ve known them forever. These are songs that beg to be heard and re-heard, would-be singles almost all, and you might spend months listening and considering, constantly enamored of a new favorite.
And if it lags at any point — or, rather, fails to go as epic as you know it could go — well, just give them time. Given the band’s prior focus on a world of short releases, this substantial full-length has surprisingly few slow moments. Veronica Falls is, more than anything, a great band at their personal best; but for their next trick, if they continue down this road, they’ll be even better than any of us imagined.
