Veronica Falls are a Glasgow-formed, London-based band, reportedly formed out of the ashes of the much-missed The Royal We. They are Roxanne (vocals, guitar), Marion (bass), Patrick (drums), and James (guitar). They have released two singles so far ‘Found Love In A Graveyard’ and ‘Beachy Head.’
Much has been made of the fact that they owe a lot to the legendary c86 movement -so much so that Roxanne apparently once worked at Monorail, the record shop cum coffee shop where Stephen McRobbie of the Pastels works to this day (True: I have been served by no less than the great man himself when trying to get him to stock 7″s by acts on my own label. To his credit – he has!).
There’s also a gothic underlying to proceedings. Just as the Jesus and Mary Chain appealed to both goths and the shambling crowd in ’86; so too did the Velvet Underground at the same time -though their lineage can be traced back nearly a decade before punk happened in the UK. And the two singles so far ‘Found Love In A Graveyard’ and ‘Beachy Head’ both have a gorgeous air of the gothic about them. Beachy Head is, after all, a notorious suicide spot (which is also referenced in the Cure’s video for ‘Just Like Heaven’ and the cover of Throbbing Gristle’s 20 Jazz Funk Greats).
Check out these two videos for the singles -then go and buy them. I was so chuffed when I heard ‘Beachy Head’ on Vic galloway’s show last night that I went and bought whatever I could find to legally download.