Song of the Day: Veronica Falls - Teenage

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is “Teenage” by Veronica Falls from the 2013 album Waiting For Something To Happen on Slumberland.

Teenage - Veronica Falls (MP3)

Formed in 2009 when singer/guitarists Roxanne Clifford and James Hoare met drummer Patrick Doyle at a Comet Gain show, Veronica Falls' C86-infused jangle pop is equally fitting to soundtrack both sunshine and rain. After adding bassist Marion Herbain, the quartet had cut a pair of 7"s for Captured Tracks a year later, and their full length debut was released the following fall, containing 12 tracks of melancholy-tinged pop tunes that exploded through their Rickenbackers. The lead single from their sophomore effort, "Teenage" improves on all aspects of the promise that their 2011 debut hinted at. Bursting out of the gate, Hoare and Clifford's ringing guitars lead the charge as they alternate between soft, melodic verses and Juliana Hatfield-style interlocking jangle guitar lines. "What are you going to do if you're looking for someone new?", asks Clifford in the final verse, but by the time the band gets to the song's delicate outro, her soft coo has embodied all of the directionless adolescent romanticism that the song's title suggests, and although she never answers the question asked in the last verse, when she sings "It's alright" over a pair of fading guitar lines, it's hard to disagree with her.

Veronica Falls have just hit the road in support of Waiting For Something To Happen, and they'll stop in Seattle on March 21st at the Tractor Tavern with Brilliant Colors and Golden Grrrls. You can get more info and tickets for that show here, and check on their Facebook and website for more tour dates. We recently posted videos from their last visit to KEXP, which you can see here. For now, though, watch the 8mm film video for "Teenage" below.