I'm amazed how much The Mary Veils sound like The Foetals. In reading the back-story of this Philadelphia band, I see little to connect them to the sort of bands that signed to PNKSLM over the course of the last few years. But, dammit, if they don't sound exactly like the best things on this ever-increasingly-superb label. Slacker Paint, self-released by the band, gets a wider release this Friday via PNKSLM, and it's one of the best things the imprint's issued this year. In other words, it makes perfect sense that this is on this label.
"See You Run" roars and rocks, while "Carefully Carefree" and "Time" are sure to make a listener recall stuff from Ty Segall and Twin Peaks. The main guy here, Brian von Uff, is a bit of a genius, blending Nuggets-swagger with DIY indie fire up into a heady brew, such that "Feel the Air" nearly burns through the speakers. And while Brian has a way with a hook, he's interested in texture as much as melodic punch. In that sense, his skills are very reminiscent of those of Jolan Lewis (Temple Songs, The Pink Teens, Temple Songs). There's a bit more glam stomp here than we might find on a Lewis offering, but "Cold as a Knife" sways with the kind of skewed-pop beauty we heard from Lewis-fronted bands, and those like them on this label the last couple of years.
As Brian von Uff goes off and records a follow-up album with Cory Hanson of Wand, let's sink into the considerable charms of this one. Slacker Paint is one of the best iterations of this kind of thing since Wild Onion, and while I can't easily pin-point the genre, the names I've dropped here in this review should give you an idea of where this is heading. Equal parts big hooks and fuzzy riffs, Slacker Paint is an immensely exciting record, no matter how you categorize this one.
Slacker Paint is out on Friday via PNKSLM.
More details on The Mary Veils via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: PNKSLM]