At the early show for The Veils at the Mercury Lounge last Thursday, singer Finn Andrews said, "This is the first time we have played these songs in America – well, since we recorded them. It feels pretty good." The New Zealand band seems to have a fascination with gothic Americana and their songs conjure that same dust bowl imagery. Further, the band played a haunting Springsteen cover of "State Trooper" and revealed they would be spending three months in Oklahoma – possibly to record another album. You might think of Finn as a young Nick Cave.

Finn always wears a black circular-brimmed hat but up-close at the show I noticed a silver necklace of detached angel wings around his neck. But the way they overlapped and dangled on the chain, you could mistake the wings for a pulled tooth from a distance. This identity crisis between upright beauty and pain is also a good analogy to their music.

I went to their show at Union Hall the following night too. Both shows left me wanting more and showcased Finn as a jarring and emotionally intense frontman but neither captured the delicate grandeur of their album Nux Vomica. Next time, I hope they return with more practice, strings, and a better piano. Regardless, it is puzzling (as Stereogum also points out) why The Veils are not (not yet?) huge in America right now. Brooklyn Vegan, and Music Snobbery were also there.