The first full album from Veronica Falls arrives on Slumberland (Bella Union in the UK) after a run of well-received singles and an EP of their spellbinding boy/girl harmonies and dark, echo-laden indie-pop won over Captured Tracks, No Pain In Pop and Wichita Recordings. This London quartet rose from the embers of the Royal We and Sexy Kids in 2009, and recorded their debut LP with Guy Fixsen (My Bloody Valentine, the Breeders) and Ash Workman (Metronomy, Summer Camp). Veronica Falls' stormy pop songs balance uplifting melodies with dark undercurrents; "Beachy Head" is named after the white cliffs in Eastbourne, well known for being a suicide hot spot in Britain, and the single's swoon-some sing-along melody, with unhinged vocals mirrored by jarring guitars, finds the track dealing out happy and sad in equal measure. This kind of tragicomic songwriting has much precedent in British indie, and sure enough, the band's lineage in twee and C86 is easy to follow; Veronica Falls aren't challenging the past, but breathing new life into the genre. Another album highlight is "Right Side of My Brain" which finds Roxanne Clifford defiantly singing, "Take your hands off me" alongside rattled guitars and forthright rhythms, and indeed, these twelve vexing pop songs are delivered at a consistent feverish pace that are as heartfelt as they are heartbroken. Veronica Falls is a joy to behold from start to finish, easily one of my favorite records of the year.
Beachy Head by Veronica Falls
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