by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
North Carolina’s Verity Den play a refined brand of shoegaze, one built on texture and patience. While so much of the new wave of the genre opts for hyper-digital manipulation and clipped maximalism, Verity Den manuveur in a space of grainy bliss, their songs offering slow paced evolutions, taking comfort in blown out strength as much as reflective drifts. There’s an emphasis on open space and soft hiss that eschews overblown amps and incessant static. Their self-titled debut is a work of art, a stunning statement of a record from a band that treads among a classic sound but expands beyond the dissonance of shoegaze’s past into lush, immersive, and experimental territory. It feels like the start of something special, the landscape of the album as accomplished, welcoming, and world weary as they come.
With the record out now via Amish Records (Luggage, P.G. Six, Jim McHugh), the band are getting ready to hit the road together, supporting Rosali, but before they do, they’ve shared “Live at Nightlight”. The live performance video captures the band playing both “Priest Boss” and “Prudence,” a pair of songs that highlight the different sides of their sound. Filmed and edited by Alina Taalman, the video places the band inside the iconic but sadly defunct NC venue for one last performance, capturing the group as a quartet - Mike Wallace (guitar), Trevor Reece (guitar, bass), Casey Proctor (vocals, bass, guitar), and Reed Benjamin (drums) - as they rip through the surging pop haze and dirgy shimmer of “Priest Boss” and the tranquil beauty of “Prudence”. The former flexes the band’s muscle and caterwauling wall of sound amid sugary blissed out melodies while the latter peacefully traverses the calm, a reflection of graceful meditative ease.
Speaking about the venue and the video, the band shared:
“On May 27th, 2023, we headed over to Nightlight in Chapel Hill with all of our gear, some recording equipment and our friend Alina Taalman, master videographer/producer. At the time the beloved venue had shut down and was in a holding state while the tenants tried to negotiate the fixing of some structural/plumbing issues with the owner of the building. We thought we might as well use the space before it opened back up, not knowing that it would be the last time we'd set foot there. After months of no response or cooperation from the owner to proposals, the tenants decided the fight to keep the venue at that location was futile.
Venues like Nightlight are invaluable to music and art culture in small and large towns alike. It was a unique place as it contained a palpable presence of all the eccentrics and underground folks who performed there and used it as a sanctuary. As it becomes harder for the counterculture to find places to express itself outside of the capitalist reality, there are still brave people fighting to make space for that community to exist. Thank you Charlie, Ethan and all those involved in supporting Nightlight. We are so grateful and hopeful that you will succeed in finding a new home for the Nightlight ethos to continue and grow. We dedicate this video to you. “
Tour Dates:
4/05 - Asheville, NC @ Eulogy *
4/06 - Durham, NC @ The Pinhook *
4/09 - Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery *
4/10 - Kingston, NY @ Tubby’s *
4/11 - Boston, MA @ The Rockwell *
4/12 - New York, NY @ Knitting Factory at Baker Falls *
4/13 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s *
6/14 - Chapel Hill, NC @ Cats Cradle (back room) #
* w/ Rosali
# w/ Setting