[Cover photo credit to Katya Brook]

The Veils are an English/New Zealander Rock band fronted by singer and songwriter Finn Andrews. Having just announced their seventh studio album, Asphodels, The Veils are previewing the album with the release of “The Ladder.” 

Finn Andrews says:

After almost two decades of writing songs exclusively about love and death, it’s nice to finally write something about home DIY equipment. This is unfortunately only partially true and it is ultimately, of course, a song about love and death.

“The Ladder” was initially inspired by the otherworldly paintings of Hieronymus Bosch, who often painted ladders as routes to psychological exploration.

Andrews explains,

It’s about the longing to transcend the relentless chaos of our world, I suppose. But don’t let that description get you down, it’s also a jaunty little number.

This harks back to all the old records I grew up listening to in my youth, recorded in times before multitrack recording where the band would all be in one room gathered around a single microphone. 

Asphodels was recorded live to tape over five days at Roundhead Studios in Aotearoa New Zealand, in the Spring of 2023. 

The album takes its name from the Ancient Greek flower of the Underworld, and lyrically, Andrews draws more from poets like Federico García Lorca, Ted Hughes or Louis MacNeice than he does from the well of more traditional Rock and Roll songwriters. The collaboration between Andrews and string arranger Victoria Kelly is also a central aspect to the record, and as with the band’s previous album …And Out Of The Void Came Love, Kelly plays a large role in bringing the songs to life.

The Veils made a 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.