The Veils - Sun Gangs

The Veils – Sun Gangs
 7/10

The press release projects that this is the first proper offering from The Veils, that their first two forays, Runaway Found and Nux Vomica, didn’t quite showcase their talent enough. Nux Vomica was a widely celebrated and mature achievement, but Sun Gangs sees the band swiftly assert their talent even further. The glossy lushness of Bernard Butler’s production never strays from its reputation of oft-overproduced overkill. This time, however, it seems to work (he produced Sit Down By The Fire, the rest of the album was produced by Graham Sutton). It seems that Finn Andrews has been listening to a lot of Leonard Cohen, with his moody dramatic sentiments shining through in the harrowing and heartbroken languor of his voice and his destructively emotive piano/guitar strum marriage.

There could also be comparisons made to Jack White in Andrews’ erratic shouty vocals in Killed By The Boom, but in softer tracks such as The House She Lived In he shows a more subdued side. Ultimately Sun Gangs is not a huge divergence from their known sound, but suggests that Andrews has endured a lot more since his cushy days at his parents’ place. He’s travelled the world, endured both overbearing praise and harsh criticism, and expressed this in more than just his songs. It seems the pressure building up is mirrored in the tense and experimental eight-minute-plus Larkspur. The songs are largely more sombre, particularly with the title track and opener Sit Down By The Fire seeming to express a dire sadness. This mood reappears in the latter half of the album. Andrews’ vocals show that he’s still at the top of his game and Sophia Burn (bass), Dan Raishbrook (guitar) and Henning Dietz (drums) all play eloquently.

Punchy, aggressive and individual, Sun Gangs is a perfect musical representation of Andrews and the perfect vehicle for expressing his recent emotional endeavours. He describes the album as “a very modern mixture of prayers, love letters and personal record keeping”. The image of him dutifully transcribing his thoughts at night by the light of an oil lamp and then screaming and singing these thoughts to tape is oddly heart-warming. The Veils has always exuded a kind of old-time sophistication, and this shines through resolutely in the more aggressive approach of Sun Gangs.
Sarah