Out of Brooklyn, New York comes a three piece band that takes the influences of Franz Ferdinand and turns the clock back to the 1980’s, where New Order and Depeche Mode made dream-pop an actual thing, and throw in some atmospheric elements, and you get the scintillating sounds of Veda Rays. On July 12th, Veda Rays released their full-length album entitled “For The Rest To Rest”.
Veda Rays is composed of Jim Stark on vocals/guitars, Maria Joanna Bohemia on synths/keys, and Jason Gates on the drums. They are thicker than molasses with their guitar licks and slicker than an oil spill in their rhythm section and arrangements.
Veda Rays has the elements of dream-pop meets shoegaze down in tracks such as “Goodnight, Christine” and “All Over This Time”. Jim Stark’s vocals sound hollowed yet somewhat dreamy in a psychedelic sense, while Maria Joanna Bohemia adds amazing elements of ambiance to allow the listener to unpack another layer on who Veda Rays are. Songs such as “Close Range” and “Screen Test” showcases Jim’s abilities to pack a punch on the guitars while Jason Gates on the drums provides that element of post-punk to make that driving sound that is a necessity in a post-punk type of band.
Given the ambiance and arrangements, Veda Rays showcases the abilities to create that full wall of sound to make “For The Rest To Rest” a palatable listen. It’s one of those albums that is just a solid album from front to back, especially as you listen to it more. Madness To Creation gives this a solid 8 out of 10 stars. Check out the track listing below.
- Close Range
- For The Rest To Rest
- Open Up The Ways
- Screen Test
- All Over This Time
- Doublespeak
- Alights
- Suspend Disbelief
- Goodnight, Christine
- These Final Days
- Other Half
Fans can find Veda Rays at the following locations:
https://www.instagram.com/veda.rays/
Jim Stark loves Franz Ferdinand