Veins to mark release of debut album with A New Forever Fest all-dayer this weekend

Veins released A New Forever this month and to mark its release, they will join nine of the best indie and rock bands from across Northamptonshire at The Steel Bar in Corby.

The band began working on their debut album at the start of 2020 – in the months before the coronavirus pandemic began significantly impacting everyday life.

As a result, Veins recorded A New Forever in both studio and home settings.

More than six years on – the band is happy the album is finally out for people to enjoy.

“There’s a sense of relief that it’s finally done and we can draw a line under it but more importantly people can finally hear it,” explains singer and guitarist Stevie Rees.

“When you create music you can be very wrapped up in it and it’s difficult to be subjective about it, so it’s nice to let some fresh ears hear it and respond to it.”

“The feedback has been really positive both in terms of the songs but also the playing and production.

“We wanted it to feel like a cohesive piece of music rather than just a collection of songs and I think we achieved that.

“The songs flow into one another really well and the production is great, so overall we’re very happy.”

Stevie is joined in Veins by drummer Dan Appleyard, bassist Scott Warner and guitarist and backing singer Luke Smith.

Together, they meld atmospheric guitars and melodic vocals into a brooding and cinematic sound spanning alt-rock, shoegaze and post-rock.

Talking about the recording process, Scott added: “As it became a very DIY project there was a learning curve and some re-recording which all added to the extended time.

“It became a bit of a joke amongst our group of friends, often likened to Guns ‘n’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy album that took over a decade.”

Members of Veins have been familiar names on the Corby and Northants music scene for many years, with Stevie previously in The Junket and Maria Singer and Scott in nu-metal act Defenestration – the latter who achieved considerable national success in the 2000s.

Scott and Stevie then went onto play in Lux with drummer Ben Gordelier – who now plays with Paul Weller.

The pair later teamed up with Dan who was between bands after leaving ACODA.

Despite working at homes on the album, the drums and bass were originally recorded at Parlour Studio in Kettering with Yard Act drummer Jay Russell.

“Everything else was recorded individually by Scott and Stevie at home, including re-recording the bass. I mixed and mastered it all,” explains Dan.

“The main issue with doing it yourself is knowing when to stop tweaking and just release it.”

The 10-track album features the tracks Criminal, Reign Down, I Keep Falling, Ambi, Pulling Teeth, Sunlight, Everlasting Game, Suddenly Revived, Atoll K and Champions Fall.

Released in April as a single, Sunlight is about watching someone you love battle depression and the helplessness that comes with it.

Talking about the track, the band add: “You want to fix it, to carry their pain, but you can’t.

“So you smile, pretend you’re strong, while breaking inside. It’s a story of quiet suffering, sadness, love, and confusion.”

Elsewhere on the record, Reign Down was inspired by Stevie’s sister’s battle with neurofibromatosis with Champions Fall exploring the end of his marriage.

I Keep Falling was inspired by the short film Nuit Blanche by Arev Manoukian which captures a fleeting, magical moment between two strangers.

When it comes to influences, Stevie explains his guitar sounds are inspired by the likes of Sigor Rós and songwriting by Smashing Pumpkins and Jeff Buckley.

For Dan, it’s bands like Misery Signals and Deftones and for Scott, the likes of The Cure’s Simon Gallup or New Order’s Peter Hook.

This Saturday, at A New Forever Fest, Veins will be joined by After Self, Delve Boy, Joanna, The Vandervalls, Creation Myths, Family Of Noise, Erwin and Decadence as well as an afterparty with DJ Kevtastic.

Talking about the line up, Scott said: “The album has taken so long to come to fruition that we wanted to mark it with something special.

“It’s a celebration of our album but more so it’s a celebration of local talent. “Northamptonshire churns out some great bands and artists and we wanted to use the day to shine a light on that.”

Luke adds: “The initial plan was to fill a line up with mates’ bands or bands we’ve played with previously but then there’s all these great young bands that we wanted to include too so we basically wrote a list of who we would like to ask and we managed to get them all but two, who were unavailable.

Next month, Veins will headline the opening night of Twinfest at the Roadmender and they will also play at the Roseshire Festival in Irchester in August.

Last year – Veins were picked by organisers of Twinfest to play its sister festival in Marburg, Germany.

A New Forever Fest is at The Steel Bar, Jimmy Kane Way, Corby on Saturday, June 20.

Music is from 2pm. Tickets cost £12 in advance before fees via www.eventbrite.com/e/a-new-forever-music-festivaI-tickets-1982547449791

A New Forever is out now across streaming platforms. For more information, visit https://linktr.ee/veinsbanduk