* En anglais uniquement
As the son of keyboardist
Barry Andrews (
XTC,
Shriekback),
the Veils'
Finn Andrews knew nothing else except a world full of music and art. He had plans to become a painter as a young lad; however, a move to his grandmother's abode in Devonport, New Zealand (near Auckland) with his mother pointed
Andrews in a different direction during his teenage years. He frequented the local folk scene to escape the ho-hum of country living. Once consumed with his father's electronic work from the 1980s,
Andrews was now interested in
Patti Smith,
Bob Dylan, and
Tom Waits.
In 2001,
Andrews (vocals/guitar), then 18, returned to London. He befriended
Ben Woollacott (drums),
Adam Kinsella (bass), and
Oliver Drake (guitar), and in a few months time
the Veils were born. By fall, Rough Trade's
Geoff Travis signed the foursome to the Blanco y Negro imprint, and immediately
the Veils began working on their first album. They issued the single "Guiding Light" in 2002; however, contractual disparities and artistic differences with Blanco y Negro turned into a two-year battle until
Travis signed
the Veils to Rough Trade proper in mid-2003. Luckily,
the Veils were able to keep songs recorded during that time. A second single, the lovelorn "Lavinia," was well received at indie rock radio in the U.K.. Shared dates with
the Raveonettes,
Beth Orton, and
British Sea Power preceded the spring 2004 release of
the Veils' debut,
The Runaway Found.
The album had only been out two months when
Andrews announced the departure of
Woollacott,
Kinsella, and
Drake. In late June 2004,
Andrews explained via
the Veils' website that a second album was already in the works, but that the original members would not be involved. Instead, he had returned to New Zealand, where he met up with former high school classmates Sophia Burn (bass) and Liam Gerard (piano, organ), who then went back with him to London to begin
Nux Vomica,
the Veils' sophomore release, an album that then came out in the winter of 2006 (and the spring of 2007 in the U.S.). For the accompanying tour,
Andrews added drummer Henning Dietz and guitarist Dan Raishbrook to the band.
Sun Gangs arrived in spring 2009. In 2013, the group headed to Laurel Canyon to start recording their fourth album.
Time Stays, We Go appeared in April and was followed by a huge tour across North America, Europe, and New Zealand. Setting up their own studio in London,
Andrews and co. starting recording a follow-up as soon as the tour was finished. Working with
El-P and
Adam Greenspan, their fifth album,
Total Depravity, appeared in August 2016. ~ MacKenzie Wilson