| CD REVIEW Veara |
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Band : Veara This anthemic PopPunk band was formed in 2003 at one of Atlanta, Georgia’s high schools…and from info in interviews I gather only singer Brad Wyrodick and drummer Brittany Harrell remain of the original line-up, today’s membership completed by guitarist/ backing singer Patrick Bambrick and bassist/ backing singer Bryan Kerr. Along the way the quartet released a self-distributed EP and already toured with the likes of The Maine, DangerRadio, and Powerhouse. In 2009 Jeremy McKinnon and Joshua Woodward (both of the successful Pop Punk act A Day To Remember) had erected their own Running Man Records, and starting to look around for bands to work with, when Woodward was called by Veara…to see whthere he wanted to stop by and listen to their newly recorded demo tracks. He got ‘em to burn a CD, went and picked it up, and 5 minutes into listening to it he knew he wanted to work with these youngsters! And in January 2010 the band, together with recording/ mixing engineer Andrew Wade and McKinnon in the producer’s chair, entered Ocala, Florida’s Wade Studios to record the ten songs on their official label debut! You may have wondered about the album’s title? Well, according to Brittany, the band’s gone through some ordeals to get where they are today (people doubting the band saying they couldn’t do what they were doin’, members quitting, people lying, etc…) and they’ve used those experiences as topics in their lyrics as a means to put things behind ‘em. But in a way they also want the songs to be an example for others who have people trying to tell ‘em what to do with their lives. A message that your life is your own to do with as yoú see fit! And those topics combined with the music should really see quite a few youngsters falling for the charms of this band. I mean, it’s catchy, melodic with the occasional “heavier” passages, has a high sing-along factor, and contains lyrics that are close to struggling adolescents’ hearts…what could be more ideal? In early March Veara signed to Epitaph Records, an event which was like a dream-come-true for the band’s members, and a somewhat weird move from the label, because usually they go for the more socio-politically critical influenced acts. I suppose the label recognized a product fit for big sales, and who could be blamed for bending “the rules” somewhat in such a case? I mean, after all there IS a social side to the band’s lyrics, isn’t there? It may not be of a critical type, but hey! To check out a couple (literal) songs off the album, surf to myspace.com/veara…oh, maybe I should find other sites for people to listten to new music, because MySpace after all changed its rules for music download (you can’t even stream the songs anymore, for goodness’ sake)! 90/100 Tony. |