Their sound has been compared to artists as diverse as Jeff Buckley, The Birthday Party, The Smiths, and Joy Division. Their live shows have become famed for their emotional intensity and Finn's often scarily possessed stage presence and his unique singing voice.
They released their debut album, The Runaway Found, in Spain late in 2003. The first single from the album, Lavinia, was released through Rough Trade on November 24, 2003. They released the album globally in January 2004 with a different track listing. It went gold worldwide the following year.
The original lineup of The Veils (which included Oli Drake, Ben Woollacott and Adam Kinsella) disbanded in late 2004, and Andrews returned to New Zealand in order to find a new lineup. He spent the New Zealand summer rehearsing with high school classmates Liam Gerrard (keyboards) and Sophia Burn (bass), and the trio returned to London early 2005. There they got connected to Dan Raishbrook (Guitar) and Henning Dietz (drums). However Liam Gerrard left the band half way into their American tour in 2007.
The group recorded their second album Nux Vomica at Underbelly Studios in Los Angeles, with producer Nick Launay, and the album was released September 18, 2006. The album features string arrangements by ex-Lounge Lizard and long time Lou Reed collaborator Jane Scarpontoni. Nux Vomica featured on 9 critics' Best Of The Year lists in 2006.
In the 16 months following the release of Nux Vomica The Veils played over 250 shows across 15 countries and during the U.S. leg of the tour it was announced that keyboardist Liam Gerrard would leave the band to return home to New Zealand due to personal reasons. The Veils carried on as a four piece and, whilst living out of a classic car garage in Oklahoma City, started recording new demos between playing shows on the east and west coasts of the America. By mid-2008 they were back to London to begin work on their third album with producer Graham Sutton. The recording sessions at West Point Studios lasted only three weeks and at the end of the summer the album was done and ready to be mixed. In March 2009 they began touring the new songs in Europe and America with new drummer Raife Burchell (of Jetplane Landing), after Henning Dietz' defection. Sun Gangs was released on April 6 2009 and was featured in many websites top albums of 2009.
The band spent the summer of 2010 working on new material. On December 6 it was announced that a new 7 song EP entitled Troubles of the Brain is set to be released on January 24, and that the band had left Rough Trade after almost 9 years and started their own label, Pitch Beast Records. The EP is produced by Finn Andrews and Bernard Butler and was recorded at Finn's home studio in London.
In mid 2012 The Veils threatened legal action on UK hardcore band Veils due to the similarity in name. This forced Veils to alter the spelling of their name to Vales.
The Veils released their next album in april 2013 titled , âTime Stays, We Goâ in April 2013. Three years later Total Depravity (2016) saw the daylight.
In 2016 David Lynch revealed that Finn would appear in the new series of Twin Peaks due to air early 2017.
In 2023 The Veils released ...And Out of the Void Came Love after a long struggle with songwriting that only came together after the birth of Andrews' first child. The COVID pandemic had seen the departure of longtime members Dietz and Burn (who had been the longest continuous presence in the band after Andrews) and the arrival of Tiny Ruins bassist Cass Basil.
The Leavers Dance
The Veils Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My hands my feet are worn
As much as yours are
And though my head my hands my heart are forming
They still feel worlds apart
Berenice
Beneath it all you're golden
And though my head my hands are growing colder
We move circles now
Berenice there's no release at all
That's not worth dying for
Berenice
My hands my feet are worn
As much as yours are
Berenice there's no release at all
That's not worth dying for
And it's not for our desires but our design that we all fall apart
Berenice there's no release at all
It's worthless crying for
And though my 'cause we all fall down
The Veilsâ song âThe Leavers Danceâ is a beautiful yet melancholic melody that reflects on the struggles of life and the inevitability of death. The lyrics, sung from the perspective of a man named Berenice, convey the idea that despite our best efforts to hold onto life, eventually we all have to face the fact that there is no escaping death. Berenice acknowledges that he, like everyone else, is wearing out and feels worlds apart from his own head, hands, and heart. However, he finds solace in the fact that despite this, there are still hints of gold to be found in life, and he clings to these moments.
As the song progresses, Bereniceâs tone shifts, and he realizes that there is no release from death that is worth dying for. He echoes the sentiment that we all fall apart, not from our desires but from our design. While it may be tempting to cry out in frustration at the inevitability of death, in the end, it is worthless to try and escape it. Life is fleeting, and we must cherish each moment as it comes.
Line by Line Meaning
Berenice
Addressing a person named Berenice
My hands my feet are worn
My body is tired and exhausted, just like yours
As much as yours are
I understand that you are also tired and exhausted
And though my head my hands my heart are forming
While I am working on improving myself mentally and emotionally
They still feel worlds apart
I still feel disconnected from myself and others
Beneath it all you're golden
Despite everything, you have a shining inner beauty
And that's all I'm feeding on
That's what I find nourishing and uplifting
And though my head my hands are growing colder
Even though I'm losing my passion and motivation
We move circles now
We keep going around in circles without any clear direction or purpose
Berenice there's no release at all
Berenice, there's no escape or way out of our current situation
That's not worth dying for
There's nothing worth risking our lives for
And it's not for our desires but our design that we all fall apart
It's not because of our individual desires, but because it's in our nature to break down and decay
It's worthless crying for
It's pointless to cry or lament over something that cannot be changed
And though my 'cause we all fall down
Despite our individual circumstances, we all eventually suffer and experience hardships
Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC, BMG Rights Management
Written by: FINN ANDREWS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Justin Rudolf
Arguably the very best song that played on One Tree Hill. There were a lot of them, but this one always sticks out in my mind.
Aaron Avila
yes man I totally agree
Bweany
@Aaron Avila facts
Luqueta
Amo essa mĂșsica.
Mourning1984
This is BY FAR my favourite song from The Veils. Fell in love with it when I heard it for the first time on The Runaway Found album and my love for this one has never died. Truly, truly, truly LOVE this song, brings back so many memories that I associate with this song. Props.
Steinbach1984
I love this album and especially this song. It's dream pop, a style the Veils have never again explored. The lyrics are nearly unintelligible but the sound says everything: those dreams dreamt in drunken loneliness that won't even reach your beloved, let alone win her (or him, for those not attracted to girls)...
Rudransh
What an amazing song. You guys really rock. Kick ass
Solar Guitar Studio
Hats off to the guitarist. There is just the right amount of simply charming bells, an orchestra of these heavenly chimes ring in my head and I come back time and again for them. It only took a few years for a quality upload, thanks, favorite'd.
egert erlich
"Berenice" is a short horror story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the Southern Literary Messenger in 1835. The story follows a man named Egaeus who is preparing to marry his cousin Berenice. He has a tendency to fall into periods of intense focus during which he seems to separate himself from the outside world. Berenice begins to deteriorate from an unnamed disease until the only part of her remaining healthy is her teeth, which become the object of Egaeus' obsession. Berenice is buried, and Egaeus continues to contemplate her teeth. One day Egaeus wakes up from a period of focus with an uneasy feeling, and the sound of screams in his ears. A servant startles him by telling him Berenice's grave has been disturbed, and she is still alive; but beside Egaeus is a shovel, a poem about "visiting the grave of my beloved" and a box containing 32 blood-stained teeth.
Contemporary readers were horrified by the story's violence and complained to the editor of the Messenger. Though Poe later published a self-censored version of the work he believed he should be judged solely by how many copies were sold.
Show less
egert erlich
Dear A N.
Year later i can confirm it to you, actually Finn can do it himself.
Yesterday he made a Facebook " isolation hour " ( B sides, covers, rarities and even a couple of new songs for your isolation pleasure.) and there he talked about it. If you want to hear him say it himself, then check the veils official Fb page and watch the video at the 14:47 he explains it . " The Veils was live.
April 18 at 11:33 PM.
Cheers, all the best.