Veronica Falls - Waiting for Something to Happen
- Written by David Beech
There seems to be a growing trend whereby bands are allowing their guitars to take a back seat (if not eschewing them altogether) in favour of '80s inspired synth hooks. Thankfully, Veronica Falls are a band that don't fall in to that category. Instead, their second album Waiting for Something to Happen finds itself full of sixties instilled twee-pop in the vein of bands such as Heavenly and to a lesser extent The Vaselines. It's a slight departure away from the sound of their 2011 debut, but only just.
The first single to be released from Waiting... is 'Teenage': a delicate and simple expression of love not-yet requited. Clocking in at just under three minutes, it's perfect length for the radio. Sugary and inoffensive 'Teenage' is a song that recalls the more innocent aspects of adolescence.
Titular track 'Waiting for Something to Happen' is a delicious slice of twee that utilises the traditional male/female singer dynamic to a brilliant degree. Whereas the track that follows, 'If You Still Want Me' takes a less dreamy approach and comes off sounding somewhat like The Cardigans.
The prominent male/female vocal is a generic convention of twee and something that Veronica Falls really needed to excel themselves at. Thankfully Roxanne Clifford and Patrick Doyle have managed to find vocal stylings which compliment each other fantastically and Doyle doesn't end up sounding as throaty as Beat Happenings' Calvin Johnson, a risk which was always there.
There are two songs on the album which really encapsulate the sound Veronica Falls have gone for. 'Buried Alive' and 'Last Conversation' respectively were some of the first songs written for Waiting... and stand head and shoulders above the rest of the album which is a no mean feat. The latter is the final track on the album and also the longest (3:59) in which we see singer Clifford dealing with the end of a relationship (perhaps the unnamed suitor from 'Teenage') in a rational and level-headed manner: “It's our last conversation/There's a new age in the making”. Sure the rhyme is simple, but twee was never about complexity and it's refreshing to hear a song about a break-up that isn't pining for a lost love or telling the world how you're better off without them. However by the final lines of “Without you there's a hurt for me/ there's a hurt for me” you can't help but feel enough a little sorry for Clifford.
Waiting for Something to Happen isn't a album that is going to break any boundaries. It's dreamy twee-pop at it's most contemporary. There are times when you will think you've heard this before from any number of bands and the constant vocal reverb will probably be enough to deter some people after their initial listen. But Waiting... is an album which doesn't purport to be something it isn't. Simple yet pretty. Short but effective. Generic but well worth a listen.
Waiting for Something to Happen is out now and available from amazon