19 Nov 2010 // A review by Mmdelai
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. 

Sun Gangs
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Since being signed to Rough Trade Records when lead singer Finn Andrews was just 16 years old, The Veils have now released seven studio albums: The Runaway Found (2004), Nux Vomica (2006), Sun Gangs (2009), Time Stays, We Go (2013), Total Depravity (2016), ...And Out Of The Void Came Love (2023), and Asphodels (2025). Finn’s debut solo album One Piece At A Time was released in 2019.

The Veils have toured consistently throughout their over twenty-year history and garnered a formidable reputation as one of the world’s great live bands. As well as a fruitful collaboration with Run the Jewels’ El-P for their 2016 album Total Depravity, they have also been praised by film directors Paolo Sorrentino, Tim Burton and David Lynch who have all used their music on their soundtracks.

Finn now lives in Aotearoa New Zealand with his partner and daughter.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for The Veils

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