veronica falls – and so she thinks

Ultimate Painting

admin — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 19:36:00 +0000

Sometimes you don’t need a reason. Sometimes just loving it is enough.

Visions Festival

admin — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 15:05:01 +0000

In the year when the successful Camden Crawl folded, the outlook for Visions was mixed. Was the RIP of CC a sign that we are over wristband festivals, or was it just that new blood is needed. After a successful debut last year, the Hackney one-dayer, with 28 bands playing across four venues, complete with a Record Fair, Comic Book convention, Tattoo art exhibition and Netil Food truck market, wasn’t so grand in scale, but succeeded in inspiration, intimacy and diversity.

In the craft beer hub Brewhouse sophisticated electropop from New Zealand quartet Yumi Zouma has elements of rolling melodies, whilst jangle pop was there in all glory at arts studio Oval Space, with guaranteed good time Veronica Falls and Mollie Rankin’s from Toronto’s Alvvays connective clamour.

Eleanor Friedberger persevered through a chatty crowd in the New Empowering Church, and playing with warm heart and soul endeared the crowd, as the delicate vocals of Swedish sweetheart Alice Boman had earlier.

The Laundry is certainly the heavy house, with the Cheetahs early set leaning to loud grunge rather than melodic shoegaze. It gets heavier for Leeds’ Eagulls, and shocktastic for Perfume Pussy. Andrew WK’s audience are there to party hard. Violent dancing, destroyed amplifiers, stage invasions and crowdsurfing, only ending as W.K’s microphone and piano were unplugged. Crazed carnage.

As frustrating as it us, when nearly all day major band clashes are on, it’s a sign of a stellar line-up is a good one. Whilst Perfume Genius played what I heard to be a deep, atmospheric and beautiful set Policia were haunting and slick as usual, there was the feeling that they may have been a bit weary after their string of festival performances.

Visions – I see a good future ahead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgeLb4QAC6M

Veronica Falls – Waiting for Something To Happen

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:12:52 +0000

Released February 4th on Bella Union

A seemingly sweeter record than its predecessor, Waiting For Something To Happen is full of almost perfect three minute gems that smoothly flow through the record. As always with Veronica Falls, the veneer of musical perfection is always layered with an undercurrent of sinister cynicism, like a doe eyed beauty whose soul brims with sadness.
There’s no denying that this is more of a pop record than their previous, but still full of ghostly sweetness. And crucially, full of great songs. Teenage is a romp of a song, in as far as Veronica Falls do romps, its chorus of ‘driving late at night, I bet you listen to the music you like’ simple and direct, and the lovely Buried Alive displays its maudlin yearning for illness and anxiety that brings one closer to their object of affection. Broken Toy is a perfect yin yang style track, its spark of happiness quickly quashed by a reality, and love only existing in adversity: ‘Cause you’re a broken toy it’s true/ but I am broken too’ and their sweet morbidity is encapsulated in the My Heart Beats that is somehow chilling and warming at the same time.
Unyieldingly sharp and sophisticated in their treatment of the simplest things, Veronica Falls do that rare thing of igniting happiness in despondency, although there is never a feeling of either outright depression or misery for its own sake. Perhaps lacking some immediacy of the debut, Waiting for Something to Happen is nonetheless not a ‘difficult second album’ but one that is striking, sharp tongued and full of ire – and utterly brilliant in that. Here’s to number three.

Beacons Festival 2012

admin — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 21:52:36 +0000

It’s All Happening began as a fanzine in Leeds back in 2008, so it’s good to be able to return to our roots and tell you how excited we are about Yorkshire’s Beacons Festival. Set in the rolling hills of the Yorkshire Dales from Friday 17th August, the three day festival returns for its seventh year with another fantastic line up.
Wild Beasts, long time IAH favourites, will hooting and howling through their headline slot on Saturday night, whilst Roots Manuva and Toots and the Maytals headline the Friday and Sunday, respectively. There are also a host of hot new acts such as Hey Sholay, moody sisters 2:54, Savages and Outfit, in addition to more established bands such as Veronica Falls, back from breaking the US, Cloud Nothings the fun and frenetic Clock Opera.
Despite issues with flash floods in 2011, Beacons is now located to much higher ground on the same Estate, so there should be no repeat of the freak events of last year. Although a British festival wouldn’t be complete without a little rain now, would it?
Aside from the music, there are a host of other attractions to entertain attendees including guerilla theatrics, a kids area and a fancy dress theme of ‘All the fun of the fair’. What more could you want?
Tickets are available for just £84.50 from the Beacons Festival website.

Two Thousand And Eleven – top year

admin — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:14:16 +0000

Ah 2011. What a year. It probably won’t go down in musical history like 1977 (Sex Pistols), or 1995 (Britpop), 1963 (The Beatles) or dammit, even 2004 (X Factor), but we’ve still had a bloody good time listening to music, getting all fired up on the thrill of a good melody and a banging riff. We’ve been waxing lyrical about our rocks and sucks in the pub anyway, so thought we might as get it down to share. Here is our year in lists. And no, sorry Los Campesinos, we will never stop stealing that line.
Once you’re done, click here to see what It’s All Happening are looking forward to in 2012.

Albums we’ve loved

Veronica Falls – Veronica Falls
Almost exactly 18 months ago we interviewed a little known band called Veronica Falls in which they talk of their distaste for ‘labels’, ‘scenes’, ‘genres ‘, ‘tweeness’ and pretty much anyone or anything that tried to define or pigeon-hole them. Fair enough. They also talk about their plan for an album…and well, basically a lack of one. Fast forward 18 months and they’re headlining stages at Field Day, touring across Europe and the US and recording their debut album twice, scrapping one and re-recording the finally released version in 3 days. Who knows what that original version sounded like, but however bad they thought the original recording was, nothing can hide the sheer quality and variation in their song writing . From the perfect pop song clout of Stephen, the melodic roundabout of The Fountain, to the shadowy punch of Bad Feeling and the anthemic Come On Over, each track on this album delivers. There’s a layered craft to each and every song, from the harmonised vocals to the interweaving guitars, that makes this a truly brilliant album. Just don’t mention cardigans to them.

Elzhi – Elmatic
Here is an example of a clever concept that evolved into something far greater. A tribute to Nas’ seminal 1994 album Illmatic, Elzhi moves the scene from an oft-romanticised New York to a gritty Detroit, where shots go off at the funniest hours (Detroit State of Mind). El’s stark imagery cleverly references Nas’ phrasing but stripped of any glamorisation of project life, calling the hood a glasshouse the devil throws stones through. However, there is light amidst the shade. Memory Lane cheekily reminisces about being back in junior high ‘with your report card/Trying to make a B out of the letter F,’ and One Love is a touching tribute to ‘El’s girl who cooked me hot meals/Helped me when I got bills.’ Best of all, Will Sessions’ lush arrangements root the tracks in the rhythm and blues of Detroit’s own Funk Brothers, meaning that more than a simple tribute, Elmatic is one of the finest hip hop albums of the decade so far.

Grouplove – Never Trust A Happy Song
The sounds of a summer, toes wriggling in grass, beers bubbles cracking on the tongue, cheap wine at the side of bonfires, a moment of drunken epiphany shared with friends. The equivalent of a sherbet fountain – all fizz, fun and fiasco – but with the reality hit of liquorice that stops it all from being too saccharin and suggests these guys actually mean it. Never Trust A Happy Song They Say – with the euphoria evident in this trip of an album, this is contender for most dishonest album of the year. Love it.
Other long players that have rocked It’s All Happening’s world this year include:
Summer Camp – Welcome To Condale
Elbow – build a rocket boys!
Feist – Metals
Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
Pharoahe Monch – W.A.R. (We Are Renegades)
Radiohead – The King of Limbs
The Streets – Cyberspace and Reds
Tom Waits – Bad as Me
Big K.R.I.T. – Return of 4Eva
James Blake – James Blake
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
Kate Bush – 50 Words for Snow
Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys
The Weekend – House of Balloons
Wild Beasts – Smother
Pete and the Pirates – One Thousand Pictures
Lanterns on the Lake – Gracious Tide, Take Me Home
Metronomy – The English Rivieria
Deer Tracks – The Archer
Art Brut – Brilliant Tragic

Tracks of the year

Bos Angeles – Beach Slalom
It may be all over in 2 minutes and 35 seconds, but this simple and youthful tale of a break-up stirs memories of teenage love and regret that had us hooked from the first listen. From the simple 2 note intro to the frenetic ending it encapsulates everything we love about discovering new bands. There’s nothing showy or over-thought, the recording sounds live and unpolished, and it seems to achieve everything it sets out to do with minimal fuss. The guitar part nods to Johnny Marr, the bassline’s got Peter Hook all over it and the hushed almost spoken vocals drift solemnly over proceedings, portraying a real sense of introspection and apology to what is ultimately a post-punk salvo of a track. They may never write anything as good as this again (we obviously hope they do), but Beach Slalom is as close to a genuine and honest guitar pop song as we could find in 2011 and we love it.
Bos Angeles – Beach Slalom
Evans the Death – I’m So Unclean
Favourite lyrics of the year on this thrashy and reflective tale of heartbreak… “When I’m watching the shopping channel, I will think of you; When I’m making a sandwich, I will think of you; When I’m trying to get to sleep, I will think of you”.
I’m So Unclean by Evans the Death
Big Deal – Talk
Has the anguish and torture of being unable to articulate basic words of lust and longing ever been so perfectly articulated? A seething bass line, wiltingly cutting delivery, hollow haze and the killer line dished up with such nonchalance, ‘all I wanna do is talk, but seeing you fucks me up,’
Talk by Big Deal
Slow Club – If We’re Still Alive
A soft drum that taps like a heartbeat in angst, the chiming organ teardrops, forlorn yearning of Rebecca’s vocal, building layers reminiscent of 50s girl groups, the killer electric riff followed by an almost calypso beat, a bridge that curls and kisses its way in, all viewed through the eyes of two hopeless romantics. Perfect.
Slow Club – If We’re Still Alive

The live stage – our favourite gigs

Pulp – Take your pick. Brixton Academy, Reading Festival, Isle of Wight. All three were very special. He writhes , he poses, he grooves, and makes us all feel us all wanna be Common People.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuVSWe8RkJc]
Pete and the Pirates at Buffalo Bar, 22 Nov – Fist time we’d seen PATP in several years, and we’d forgotten how much we love them. Intimate venue, great tunes.
We Were Promised Jetpacks at XOYO, 12 Oct – What a gig. WWPJ debut album was a job to behold, but their second album released earlier in 2011 is probably my album of the year. They did not disappoint at XOYO (personal highlight being during their biggest hit Quiet Little Voices, when lead singer Adm was hit by a bottle of beer so instead of singing ‘we’re young again’ he creatively changed the words to ‘you’re a c**t’ whilst pointing at the perpetrator. Priceless. With support coming from the wonderful cheeky chaps and chappess that are Let’s Buy Happiness, this was an all-round great gig.

2.54 at Corsica Studios, 9 Nov – The night that it felt like everything came together for 2.54.

Alphabet Backwards, The Switch and Lawrence Bray at The Kings Head, 18 June. Or so I’ve heard. Can’t remember much.

There’s nothing like a muddy field – festival highlights

Pulp (see above!). Ordinarily, I’d find it more than a little strange to watch a man in his 40s thrusting on top of an amp whilst singing ‘This is Hardcore’. However, this was the Return of Jarvis. It was one hell of a night.

The Great Escape – Hard to pick out a single moment. For me, The Great Escape signifies the start of the festival season, ice cream on the beach and discovering a pier load of new music. This year was no different. Personal highlights were Out Like a Lion, a great set and top interview from Team Me and Two Wounded Birds, who later went to play our Christmas show, and one of the most gloriously technicolour and serotonin fuelled gigs of my life with Grouplove and
Foster The People… Other top moments include an interview with the lovely Rachel Sermanni, Sarah Richardson trying to convince me she was hanging out with Snoop Dogg and meeting many fellow bloggers/ music people for the first time. It’s not only new bands though, and as always, Eddie Argos of Art Brut had The Haunt in the palm of his hand, wrapped in the cable of his microphone, sitting down on the floor at his will and up in the air when the hormonal fuelled Emily Kane, My Little Brother and Modern Art reach their climax. Brilliant.

Sissy & the Blisters at Camden Crawl, or Spector at Field Day – we couldn’t decide between these two. Both were the first time we’d seen each band, and both blew usaway.

Alphabet Backwards / Spring Offensive / Gunning for Tamar at Truck Festival – Three awesome Oxford bands at a festival in Oxfordshire. ‘nuff said. And all lovely, lovely people too.
Tribes at Reading – It’s a little scary when a band sings nostalgically about the 1990s. However, once we’d got over the realisation that we are now old, Tribes set at Reading was an enjoyable set to a buzzing crowd.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoioAwx0v-Q]

Veronica Falls: ‘We don't even like C86 bands’

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:33:39 +0000

If you’ve formed your opinion of the Glaswegian four piece Veronica Falls based upon industry hype and press reviews, this statement seems as shocking as Noel Gallagher claiming he’s not a fan of The Beatles. It’s hard to agree with the dewy vocalist and guitarist Roxanne that ‘We don’t sound anything like those bands…’ when you hear the Velvet Underground-esque woozy scuzz vibrating out.
But if the guys don’t see themselves slotting into the 80s shambling ethos, backstage at 93 Feet East, it seems that they’re not particularly keen to be dropped into a category with contemporaries either.
‘To be honest, we don’t like many current bands,’ says James, the drummer. Him and Roxanne, the more vocal and vehement half off the group try to bounce ideas off one another, but conclude that it is in vain.
Not even Los Campesinos, or Bright Eyes, bands whom the twee tag has also been applied to?
The word ‘twee’ triggers even more tetchiness than ‘C86.’ ‘It’s become so fashionable to call bands ‘twee’’, complains James, ‘but what does that even mean? There’s no definition.’
‘A lot of the bands lumped together don’t even sound similar,’ Roxanne agrees. ‘Oh, they’re wearing cardigans, they must be twee.’ Based on this criteria, they most certainly are – 75% of the band are dressed in button up jumpers.
On stage Roxanne is dirty doe eyed, the girl next door with a dark secret, and having heard that the band are less than forthcoming in interviews we fear that this ethereal aloofness that suits the vibe of songs such as ‘Found Love In A Graveyard’ an ‘Beachyhead’ so well on stage may make this post Brick Lane curry interview slot a little slow. Not so. Whilst James and Roxanne dominate proceedings, it’s clear there is an affable understanding and mutual respect in the band.
Having comes from the remains of numerous other bands (Your Twenties, The Royal We, Sexy Kids) we wonder if this was something missing from the previous groups. We put it, however, more bluntly.
‘So why will Veronica Falls work when all your other bands haven’t?’
‘It’s just so fun now!’ exclaims Roxanne; the first genuine non nonchalance of the night.
‘All being into the same music helps too.’ says Patrick, even if they’re not too sure how to define that.
‘It’s a breath of fresh air to be all working towards the same thing. In other bands I’ve been in it’s always been a bit of a battle, a constant fight. It’s nice to play something that someone actually agrees with!’
Marianne, the bassist, is the exception, having not spent her formative years in dark bedrooms leaning chords, or busking around village halls, jamming until fingers hurt, but being asked to join the band before she could even play the bass, and only subsequently learning her craft as she goes.
‘Have I learned it?! I think I’m still learning now’ she smiles, shy eyes hidden behind long hair. In fact, the first time we see Veronica Falls, supporting Two Door Cinema Club at The Garage, Roxanne on occasion leans across to help Marianne, and the boys’ winks of encouragement give visible confidence.
So why join a band when you can’t play an instrument? She shrugs. ‘It seemed fun.’
And has it been?
‘Yeah.’
Fun isn’t the first word to drift in front of your eyes upon hearing Veronica Falls, with their shoegazey sound and lamenting lyrics. They’re bloody good, but not a bubblegum blast.
‘Your lyrics are quite dark – do you write about anything in particular, or find yourself returning to specific themes?’
‘We don’t look to write about any one topic, I wouldn’t say that there’s a plan or genre’, says Roxanne.
James visibly shudders. ‘Genres, labels, we’re not into all of that.’
Patrick gets involved. ‘The majority of what we write about is circumstantial; you know, boys, girls, beaches, cars. Just whatever we’re doing at the time. it’s cool to look back and see what we were doing, or feeling. A bit like a record of our life I guess, a diary.’
‘Yeah, don’t worry,’ grins Roxanne. ‘We won’t be writing about graveyards forever. I like happy sad songs, where there’s some ambiguity, and the listener has to think about the meaning, or make their own.’
Given the band’s adamant assertion that they don’t fit into any slots or pigeon holes, what do they feel that they have in common with label mates on Captured Tracks, the US label that snapped them up. Or is nepotism a dirty word?
‘Patrick just knew Mike Snipes from when in New York, so it worked that way. I guess we have similar influences, and friends in the scene.’
So what next?
Planning world domination strategies is not the way that Veronica Falls does things.
‘Er, maybe a single in the summer,’ offers Roxanne. ‘Beachyhead?’ she suggests, in an inflected tone, as though looking for reassurance. There’s a couple of labels interested too, so we might sort ourselves out.’
And when’s there going to be an album?
‘We need to write first!’ interjects James. Roxanne confirms the lack of material. ‘When we first got together we had loads of stuff, but then all these gig offers came in. Now we’ve no time to write, it’s just practise and play.’
‘All we do is practise,’ nods Marianne. ‘We really need to push ourselves to do an album.’
‘What are we doing?!’
End of the interview, and we seem to have left Veronica Falls on a brink, pondering their course of action and unsure of the direction to take. Just as we drain our cans and get set to leave, James asks, ‘Er, so what is this interview for?’ I raise an eyebrow. ‘Well we were just asked, and said yes.’
We give him the spiel, and hand over a couple of copies of the previous issue, where Veronica Falls featured as a hot tip off. Patrick is thrilled. ‘We’re on page three guys!’
As a ten minute discussion between the band members about why ’zines are amazing commences, suspiring utterances about the DIY ethic and the joy of sharing new music, our recorder turns off. But not before it captures James: ‘I love ’zines, that’s brilliant.’
We’ll leave the last word to them.