Violens

Violens' forthcoming album, True, finds the Brooklyn three-piece further amplifying their innovative songwriting with a palette of exquisitely crafted sound. The band's music eludes classification, expertly blending percussive guitar work and silky harmonies, seeking the silver lining yet to be discovered between the sounds we know and love. With a wash of 90s sonic pop drawn from artists like Pale Saints, Cocteau Twins and McCarthy, Violens paint soft watercolor notes across their compositions, adding crucial emotional depth via layered vocal harmonies.

The album's first single, "Totally True," demonstrates this with its stone-washed, semi-improvised feel, celebrating bands like The Chameleons and Martin Newell's Cleaners From Venus. The guitars are clean and jangling, meshing perfectly with the driving bassline. The lovely vocals have an almost 60s feel; their debt to such soft-rock touchstones as The Association and Sagittarius is one of the unique elements of Violens' sound that sets them well-apart from many of their contemporaries. The b-side "Something Falling" is a dreamy ballad marked by an effectively spare production, sweeping synths and the band's trademark harmonies. Simply gorgeous.