About The Veils
The Veils are an English/New Zealand indie/rock band fronted by singer and songwriter Finn Andrews.
Finn Andrews was born in London but spent his teenage years living with his mother and sister in his grandmother's house in Auckland, New Zealand. Largely uninterested in school, Finn was also playing in many bands and writing the songs that would later comprise The Veils debut album The Runaway Found. When he was 16, a set of demos he sent to record companies created a stir and led to invitations for him to return to London and make a record.
The Veils were signed almost immediately to Blanco y Negro, an indie/major hybrid imprint led by Rough Trade's boss Geoff Travis. On 19 August 2002 the band released a promo only single "Death & Co.", while a proper commercial single release came three months later, on 18 November, for "More Heat Than Light" followed by "The Leavers Dance" , which was distributed exclusively at gigs.
By then increasing contractual disparities and artistic differences between the head of Warner and Geoff Travis delayed plans for a debut album. The Blanco Y Negro label was eventually disbanded and the dispute turned into a court battle, with The Veils eventually regaining ownership of their master recordings from Warner Music. By mid-2003 Geoff Travis had signed them to Rough Trade Records.
The Veils recorded four more songs with producer Bernard Butler , and the band finally released its first Rough Trade single, "Guiding Light" on 28 July 2003. Single releases of "Lavinia" and "The Wild Son" led to The Runaway Found finally hitting the shelves on 16 February 2004. Though rapturously received by the critics, by the time of its release Andrews felt unhappy with the direction the band had taken and, allegedly following altercations between him and other members, The Veils' first incarnation split mid-2004, just 2 months after their debut album's release.
Andrews left the UK early 2005 and embarked on a solo tour of America and Japan, eventually returning home to New Zealand where he found a new direction for the band. He spent the summer there rehearsing with high-school friends Liam Gerrard and Sophia Burn in Liam's bedroom, soon amassing an album's worth of material. When the trio returned to London they were joined by Dan Raishbrook and Henning Dietz , who completed the new line-up. They began recording sessions with producer Nick Launay in Los Angeles in early 2006. The resulting album Nux Vomica had a darker, far heavier and more complex sound, augmented by string arrangements by ex Lounge Lizard Jane Scarpantoni, but also a newly found, highly animalistic energy. Lead singer Finn Andrews shows "rougher" and more experimental vocals on many of the songs such as 'Not Yet' and 'Jesus for the Jugular'. Two singles were released from the album: "Advice for Young Mothers to Be" and "One Night on Earth" . Nux Vomica featured on 16 English and American critics' best of the year lists in 2006.
Map & Directions To Venue
