Veradas’s debut album, Universal Relays, is a 10-song onslaught of sludgy riffs, tribal drums, harmony vocals, arty effects, and cathartic hooks. In some form or another, this beast of a record is conceptually or musically inspired by shoegaze, jazz, funk, 1990s grunge and alt-rock, Kraut rock, American psych, the madness of the Aussies, the abandonment of the Pacific Northwest, and, of course, The Every Brothers. Universal Relays will be preceded by the art-grunge single “Hud Money.”
“We’ll take on anything. We’re not afraid to let any genre influence us. Some of these songs are inspired by the most random things, but they still end up sounding like us,” says guitarist, vocalist, and lyricist Travis Ferguson.
Universal Relays is a cathartic purge of modern angst rendered as serrated psychedelic art-punk grunge. “Undertow” delivers an unhinged assault with an atmosphere of Jane’s Addiction-style tribal danger felt in its effects-laden, snarled high-register vocals, manic drums, and mountainous riffs. The song climaxes with in a frenzied tangle of fast-paced riffs and howling vocals, like the last gasps of someone dragged beneath violent waters. “It is a plea to the universe that we, as beings of consciousness, may see each other as such and be swept away in the undertow of being,” Ferguson says. Despite its harrowing sonic assault, the lyrics contain a modicum of hope. He continues: “It’s about letting yourself go, and drowning our prejudices and rising.” One standout lyric is: This is communication from the people/Who came tomorrow/who come from yesterday.
With its sludgy riffs and scrubbed-raw vocals, “Wolf Creek” oozes a menace as it envelops you in an novelistic abstraction of a small town that conjures Deliverance vibes. “Eyes Eyes Eyes” with its Lovecraftian narrative is another immersive track. Its intrigue quotient is bolstered by a Middle Eastern musical motif which, depending on which member you ask, recalls Turkish psych music or the death metal band Lantern. The churning riffs of “Buddha Bop” possess a creepy blues quality that’s familiar but hard to place (perhaps, 1970s hard rock or stoner rock?), however, they are propelled forward with relentless, chainsaw intensity. Ferguson’s vocals on the track are spectral and disquieting as he sings about the toxicity of mankind’s evolution. “Buddha Bop” is new sonic territory for Veradas, and it may hint at the band’s music to come.
