Artist: The Veldt
Title: Illuminated 89
Genre: Shoegaze / Post Punk / Rock / Soul / Hip Hop
Release date: 24th November 2023
Label: 5BC Records and Little Cloud Records
Album Review
THE VELDT are a Shoegaze band from the US that formed in the 1980s. They come specifically from Raleigh, North Carolina and consist of brothers Danny and Daniel Chavis. Equally influenced by the shoegaze of THE COCTEAU TWINS and the soulful tomes of Marvin Gaye they have melded hypnotic dreamscapes with the art of solid song-forging. Back in the 80s the church, juke joints (A bar with a jukebox and a space for dancing) and PINK FLOYD also added to the heady mix of sounds accumulated to inspire future music creation. Their first iteration of the album ‘Marigolds’, included the track ‘Angel Heart’ but the album was shelved and rewritten for release in 1993 sans the single.
They also released the album ‘Afrodisiac’ in 1994 on Mercury records (Produced by Ray Shulman of BJORK / THE SUGARCUBES fame) and was listed as one of the top 50 Shoegaze albums of all time by Pitchfork. For a brief spell they were called APOLLO HEIGHTS after relocating to New York but they reverted back. In New York they teamed up with Japanese bassist cum programmer Hayato Nakao. Some of their recent releases include ‘The Shocking Fuzz Or Your Electric Fur’ EP in 2017 and the album ‘Entropy Is The Mainline To God’ in 2022. In the live setting THE VELDT have played with the likes of ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN, VIOLENT FEMMES, THE PIXIES, THE THROWING MUSES, OASIS, CHUCK D and LIVING COLOUR to name but a few.
This current album has three singles on it, ‘The Everlasting Gobstopper’, ‘Aurora Borealis’ of which Liz Fraser contributes vocals towards the end, and the aforementioned ‘Angel Heart’. All of these were released back in October as album tasters, I’ll comment further on them later, but for now I’ll say this: I’ve never heard of this band until the press sheet landed in my inbox. Something piqued my interest to learn more and on a cursory first listen it reminds me of the vocal lines delivered by the ASTON TWINS on early GENE LOVE JEZEBEL stuff like ‘Promise’. It also reminds me of the one hit wonder from the 90s BABYLON ZOO, too although this came first!
The first track on the album is one of the singles previously released in September. ‘Aurora Borealis’ is upbeat confessional shoegaze pop. It gushes with gooey sentiment unashamedly. Liz Fraser puts in a cameo at the end, blink and you’ll miss her... ‘CCCP’ continues the pop sensibilities, easy on the ear without being too saccharine. ‘It’s Over’ is pretty much run of the mill in my view, the only bit that sticks out is THE CHAMELEONS guitar vibe near the end. ‘Shallow By Shallow’ rolls along at a nice pace with upbeat attitude, the guitar doodles sinewy and pliable. ‘Pleasure Toy’ is pumping and punchy, the guitar lights up the piece like snappy LEDs. This track has a rather satisfying feel to it. This is the one that also has the GENE LOVE JEZEBEL like vocal harmonies. Another single ‘Angel Heart’ which was released on October 27th sways in the dreamy way a la COCTEAU TWINS, the guitars indistinguishable, and the vocals exclaiming but in a more rounded way.
‘Willow Tree’ is strong and flexible just like the real thing. It sways from side to side and the bass exudes a nice tone. One thing to note, the press blurb says Liz Fraser is only on ‘Aurora Borealis’ towards the end. She sounds like she’s on here too but with a more recognisable vocal sound. ‘Git Up’ is the least Shoegaze track on the album with a punchy funky Rock vibe and staccato bass with 70s style “wah wah” guitars. I’d describe it as shake awake. Drums start off ‘Heather’ followed by wide growling bass and all sorts of textures on the guitar. One minute sharp and the next feathery. “Heather, I want to wrap my legs around you cos you’re all/oh so fine” sung with ethereal echoes.
‘Daisy Chain’ slows things down a bit to exude its lovey doveyness (Closes eyes and sticks tongue out). Not my favourite track but the bass is meandering in an ok way. The final track is the third single ‘The Everlasting Gobstopper’. A simple bass pulls this along like a pleasant walk in the park. Up the scale down the scale whilst the interesting but slightly squeezed vocal helps out by pushing things along. All in all this is a good album. It does not put too much of a demand on the listener, it just washes over you like sea water if you were lying on the beach as the tide came in. My fav track has to be ‘Heather’ I just love the six-stringed textures. The mix is perfect. ‘Willow Tree’ comes a close second, for now.
Tracklist
01. Aurora Borealis
02. CCCP
03. It’s Over
04. Shallow By Shallow
05. Pleasure Toy
06. Angel Heart
07. Willow Tree
08. Git Up
09. Heather
10. Daisy Chain
11. The Everlasting gobstopper
Line-up
Danny Chavis - Guitar
Daniel Chavis - Vocals, Guitar, Lyrics
Marvin Levi - Drums
Joseph Hugh Boyle - Bass
Elizabeth Fraser - Additional Vocals on ‘Willow Tree’
Robin Guthrie - Programming and Additional Guitars
Lincoln Fong – Programming
Website
https://theveldtmusic.bandcamp.com
Cover Picture
Rating
Music:7
Sound:7
Total:7 / 10
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