Start Listening To: VERO

VERO presents music from 90s American college movies, only ten times cooler.

Stockholm trio Julia Boman Clara Gyökeres, Amanda Eddestål are making mad sounds throwing back on 90s drum machine rock with NEU! and Malaria flavouring. Riding on deadpan-brilliant lyrics and indie sensibilities, VERO roll unlike any upcoming Swedish band. They expand their universe into a genreless area and smash out anything from pop to punk. Recently covering Shame’s ‘Concrete’, VERO proves that their genius is versatile.

While waiting desperately for their new single ‘BEG!’, we kindly asked them to talk to us.

Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?

Julia: My name is Julia, I sing and I play the bass. I’m from a town outside of Stockholm called Västerås, and that’s where I started playing in bands as a fourteen-year-old.

Clara: I play guitar, we all met in Stockholm. We make music that suits us, that sounds like us, and that embodies us.

Edde: I started playing in bands when I met Julia at 16 and she needed a bass player. Now I play guitar. The music we make now is unpolished with lyrics that have a deadpan undertone.

How did it all start?

Edde: Well the sound that we have now started when we stopped using synthesizers in the studio. We also added a drummer to our live sets and Julia started playing bass live. Now everything we write is made for being performed live.

If you were to describe your sound to someone who’d never heard you before, what would you say?

Clara: We would usually say 90’s/early 2000s indie rock. Or name drop a bunch of bands that has similar sounds.

Julia: I usually say “music from 90s american college movies”, even if it’s not true.

Can you tell us a bit about your upcoming single ‘BEG!/Concrete’?

Julia: ‘BEG!’ is the very first single that introduces us as a band, in the form that we are now. ‘Concrete’ is a B-side and also a cover of the british band Shame. The 7” is released by PNKSLM and it’s our first physical release ever!

Can you tell us more about the themes behind ‘BEG!’?

Edde: Beg is the soundtrack of a furious and vengeful person -  someone who’s had it up to here and refuses to be mistreated.

How come you’ve chosen Shame’s song as your first cover?

Clara: Well, we never did a cover before, and Concrete is just really good, we wanted to get our hands on it.

Julia: Also we opened for Shame in Stockholm before the pandemic and it was great, so a cover of a Shame song felt like a good idea.

Are you planning any other releases this year?

Julia: Our debut album is dropping this spring/summer! It feels huge to us.

What inspires your music?

Edde: The people I meet and the things we do, the state of the world and the state of us. Generally, the things that make me feel something.

Clara: Even the most trivial things can be a source of inspiration. Sound and vision. Stories we write ourselves or hear about.

Julia: noise

What advice would you give for anyone trying to achieve a similar sound to your band?

Edde: Lose all pretensions when writing melodies and choosing your gear. Just write and play what sounds and feels right. Listen to your bandmates and don’t drown your melodies in too much delay or reverb.

Clara: Borrow and steal from us!

Julia: Don’t overthink it.

How do you find operating in Swedish DIY music scene?

Clara: It taught us how to get things done ourselves. We’ve been putting shows together since there’s just not been enough happening. We lack smaller venues, independent festivals, and rehearsing studios IMO. I hope this will grow in the future.

If your music were a film or TV show which would it be?

Edde: Probably an indie horror film.

Julia: Oh, for sure!

Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s important to you?

Clara: “Absolute Synth”, still so many bangers and great songs on that one, haha.

Julia: ‘A Camp’ by A Camp, it’s just beautiful songs 

What do you hate right now?

Edde. Not being able to play at festivals. Hopefully, in summer it will be better.

Clara: The pandemic

Julia: Word

What do you love right now?

Clara: Our album!

Julia: And that the sun stays up longer and longer every day. It’s currently dark at 15:30 in Stockholm.

What comes next in the VERO story?

Julia: Singles from the album, I can’t wait!

What upcoming 2022 music releases are you most excited about?

Clara: I’ll be very honest and say that I have no clue what’ll be released this year, guess it will be a nice surprise?

Julia: Shamir- Heterosexuality (album)

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Julia: Yes, follow us on Instagram - that’s where we hang out nowadays. It’s @vero.band <3

Edde: And buy the 7” HERE: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/vero/beg-concrete