The Veils

“The Wishbone”
from the EP Troubles of the Brain
2011
iTunes

It’s been nearly two years since we last heard from The Veils, but 2011 already brings us the Troubles of the Brain EP, the band’s first release for their new self-run Pitch Beast record label. It’s an interesting move on the band’s part, leaving Rough Trade records, their home for their first three albums, to head off on their own. They’ve also recruited Bernard Butler (ex-Suede) to produce and mix five of the EP’s seven tracks.

The record is one of the more varied of the Veils’ career. Opener “Bloom” is a chugging album opener that works great as a lead-in for what’s to come. “Don’t Let the Same Bee Sting You Twice” is a jaunty sing-along that recalls T. Rex more than anything Finn Andrews has crafted in the past. It’s one of the more unique songs on the record in terms of the past output of the band. The aforementioned “Bloom,” “The Wishbone,” and “Us Godless Teenagers” sound like natural extensions of their 2009 album Sun Gangs, but “The Stars Came Out Once the Lights Went Out” could have fit nicely on 2006’s much more Morrissey-leaning Nux Vomica.

“The Wishbone” and “Grey Lynn Park” are the EP’s unquestionable standouts — a pair of lyrically evocative songs that also reflect the musical styles where the band has connected best in recent years: snaking, smoldering and sentimental. The EP is built like an album, despite its short running time, using the opening of “Bloom,” a pair of back-to-back upbeat numbers, and then a set of songs that wind down the tempo slowly and create a complete feel. Troubles of the Brain is another fantastic release from a band who is increasingly reliable at creating some of the best emotively sung music from the dark and dusty corners of traditional pop.