The Veils – Scala, London 21/09/09

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Photography credit: Crazy Bobbles

Maybe I’d got my hopes too high, but I was expecting a bit more from The Veils. The Anglo-New Zealand band have received some rather exuberant plaudits from tastemakers whose opinions I respect, many of whom hailed them as the new The National- an electric, emotive live act with a superb roster of songs and the understated charisma to match. But although this show was intermittently impressive it rarely, if ever hit the highs Matt Berninger and co. deliver with such effortless ease.

On the plus side there’s still a lot to commend them for, not least their mesmerising front-man Finn Andrews. Spending most of the set apparently on the verge of tears, there’s no denying the sheer emotional gravitas he brings to the band; whilst he seems shy, awkward, almost “emo” in-between songs, he’s an entirely different beast when delivering the songs, sauntering about like a bona-fide rock star, obviously pouring his heart and soul into his performance. His magnetic presence carries the show, although the rest of the band almost match him in terms of energy- it’s just a shame that the playing is competent rather than spectacular. Reife Burchell’s drumming is a case in point; although it certainly does the job, there’s a certain dependence on the same drum patterns that stops it from really securing your attention. The same applies to the songs- although the standard is typically decent, it’s only the beautiful solo rendition of “Lavinia” that truly stands out in a cavalcade of mid-tempo indie-rock. A perfectly enjoyable, well-delivered performance, then- but not the epoch-defining event I’d been led to believe.

A quick word of praise is also surely due for the support bands – Swimming’s short-but-sweet set of angular space-rock showed a certain promise even though most of them looked about 12, and I found myself mighty impressed by Say So, who despite technical hitches reminded me of excellent-but-doomed indie-synthsters Make Model.