Veda – The Weight Of An Empty Room / 2005 Second Nature / 13 Tracks / http://www.weareveda.com / http://www.secondnaturerecordings.com / Reviewed 18 August 2005
The disc “The Weight of An Empty Room” really begins slowly, but the emotive instrumentation played by Veda during “The Falling Kind” is perhaps the first example of a single-ready track. “Lover’s Lie” is a track that tries to maintain the listeners’ interest, but it is only Kristen’s vocals (which sound similar in substance to Jennifer Knapp) that provide anything new and exciting on the track. The instrumentation present on “The Weight of an Empty Room” is solid, and provides a single sound (that is, there is no real disjuncture between the different elements of the band) but really does not take the innovative steps necessary to delineate themselves from the mass of emotive-rock bands currently out on the road. The sad thing about Veda though is Kristen’s vocals are so compelling on tracks like “Desire On Repeat”, while there is little to really notice on the instrumental side of things.
Note though that while the instrumentation on the disc is not up to par with the level of Kristin’s crooning, the arrangement that the band creates is fitting and provides Kristen with a boost at all the right moments. “Still Standing” is a track in which individuals can honestly say that the instrumentation present on the track does service to the vocals contained within. Taking more than a passing nod toward early Cure guitar line, the weight of the bass during the track is a perfect opposite to the higher registers reached by Kristen. “Redemption Soon” actually has the guitars present on the track approach a sort of step-ladder type of arrangements that provides a form of timer-keeping that far surpasses even that approachable by the traditional drummer-as-metronome.
Even though the disc clocks in on the short side of fifty minutes, Veda’s instrumentation on this disc is such that (in their defense), the album spins by much more quickly than comparable discs. Finishing up with an acoustic version of “Lover’s Lie”, this more-organic style of playing really does much more to ensnare listeners than the constantly-swirling and dark-sounding style that dominates through the disc. The fact that this is studio acoustic instead of radio acoustic (which has noticeable weaknesses in sound) really ends “The Weight Of An Empty Room” on a positive note. The band has only been around a year, so it is understandable that there would be problems present that still need to be ironed out. Veda comes out with a much more solid base during “The Weight Of An Empty Room” than comparable bands, and I for one will be listening in to see if the band can move on from this early sound.
Top Tracks: Lover’s Lie (Acoustic), The Falling Kind
Rating: 5.2/10