Veronica Falls/Pianos/NYC Wednesday 28th 2011

A brace of singles brought me to Pianos to see Veronica Falls. The first, "Beachy Head", a reverb drenched charging tamborine rocker- doused in monk chants featuring a female lead vox that recalled Ludella Black and the Headcoatees. A couple songs come to mind for examples, "Pretend", "Gotta Get Inside That Boy's Mind" and also the Delmonas "Delmona, the Temptress of Love". Spooky stuff. I was smitten, this single was everything I've been craving in under three minutes. Then I had to wait for more. Time passed, and I found another single - "Found Love In a Graveyard" b/w "Starry Eyes". It was different, super melodic. I was now hooked. Then came the full length, and the vocal melodies really came to fore. The album sounds more like a singles collection than a long player with valleys and pockets. The pop chops exhibited throughout are considerable, the best of so many digested bands surfacing here in a successful merger. Sometimes I hear bits of Velocity Girl, Lush, or the Velvet Underground, but only traces, these aren't new wave post punk vultures, but rather the newest progression in etherial garage pop. They will eventually blow past even these descriptors as they are just getting started and as the baroque acapella at the end of "Misery" demonstrates, their ability to structure their vocals is one of their best assets. This was the perefect time to see them live. There was no wishing for any older material as they only have 14 or so songs to their name. I snapped a few pictures using a Mamiya 120 camera while enjoying the short and entrancing set.