The Veils - Asphodels The Veils

Asphodels, the seventh studio album from The Veils, was recorded live to tape over five days at Roundhead Studios in Aotearoa New Zealand.  The Veils debut album The Runaway Found turned 20 last year which provided lead singer/songwriter Finn Andrews with a healthy dose of existential dread.  "I feel as though this album is the end result of a now disconcertingly long career in music," he says. "I think after your 7th album, much like turning 40, you should really just stop counting. I've learned a lot along the way, which I suppose is the whole point, and I've really distilled it all into these 9 songs. As always, I really just write about love and death  -  it's a compulsion  - and that is once again the case here. But I feel as though I've never been able to express this stuff rattling about in my brain quite as directly until now. I have rarely felt proud of anything I've made for very long, but this one feels different. It's built on a strong foundation I think."

The album takes its name from the Ancient Greek flower of the Underworld, and lyrically, Andrews draws more from the great poets than he does from the well of more traditional rock and roll songwriters.  The collaboration between Andrews and string arranger Victoria Kelly is a central aspect of the record, and as with the band's previous album "And Out Of The Void Came Love", Kelly plays an integral role in bringing the songs to life. Andrews says "I really wanted the string arrangements to behave like another member of the band. We even fleshed the character out, like an actor playing a role. It's this collaboration with Vic that is really at the centre of this record I think."

Since being signed to Rough Trade when singer Finn Andrews was 16 years old, The Veils have released six studio albums and  toured consistently throughout their twenty year history and garnered a formidable reputation as one of the world's greatest live bands. They have also been praised by film directors Paolo Sorrentino, Tim Burton and David Lynch who have all used their music on their soundtracks.

The Veils made their glorious return to the stage in 2023/24 with sold out shows across Europe, North America & Australasia. The band will begin touring significantly again in support of Asphodels in early 2025.

"Refreshingly passionate - Andrews rages with a Herculean intensity." The Guardian

"Horse-whipped, lightning-crash clamour - magnetic." Pitchfork

"One of the finest songwriters of his generation."  Drowned in Sound