Vera Sola’s “Vicious Vibrato and Merciless Perspective” (KEXP) Shine On Debut Album ‘Shades,’ Out Today

Currently On Tour In Europe, With US Dates In December Including Rough Trade In NYC And Moroccan Lounge In LA

November 9, 2018

Today, Vera Sola releases ‘Shades,’ her self-produced debut album. “Performative, theatrical and spell-binding” (The Line of Best Fit), across 10 “fascinating and compelling” (DIY Mag) tracks, her “vicious vibrato, brooding instrumentation, and merciless perspective” (KEXP) make up “the perfect concoction for an experimental and honest songwriter” (The 405) as she tackles such disparate topics as colonialism, lost love, Biblical origin stories, and the generalities and subtleties of the nature of femininity.

Watch her self-directed video for “The Colony,” praised by Rolling Stone as “the sort of song that Quentin Tarantino soundtracks are made for”: https://youtu.be/1nqJFlm0Ug0

A longtime member of Elvis Perkins’ band, Vera Sola strikes out on her own with a meticulous verve. Recorded at Native Sound Studio in St. Louis, Vera wrote, performed, and arranged all of the music on ‘Shades.’ Additionally, she directed and edited all of the accompanying music videos and either hand-makes or designs all of her performance wardrobe.

Her dedication to detail is evident in the music. Vera incorporates a wide array of instruments –the clattering teeth of a donkey’s jaw, gunfire, Kenyan sistrum rattles, chains, broken glass, selenite and more — to create a unique atmosphere that is more foley than folk. A storyteller at heart, Sola’s songs are sophisticated and poetic in a way that gives away her Harvard Literature degree. Yet despite “the lyrical grandeur of the album and Sola’s verbosity…[the songs remain at] all times human and relatable,” The Line of Best Fit exclaims in a 9/10 review, “The beauty of the words are in fact one of the most endearing aspects.”

Says Vera Sola about ‘Shades’:

This record is the direct result of my reality, personal and global, going up in a dark and disorienting and sad and often very funny blaze.

There wasn’t any template. No genre or style I was going for. When I finally talked myself into making it, I thought I’d have friends come in and contribute, but the nature of things drew me ultimately towards playing and arranging it all myself. So there was very little external input. As such, it’s an unbroken vessel of my own energy, for better or worse. It was pure expression without expectation.

Vera Sola is currently on tour in Europe and performs at Rough Trade NYC on December 3rd and LA’s Moroccan Lounge on December 17th. Full tour dates below, 2019 dates to be announced soon.

‘SHADES’ TRACKLIST:
1. Virgils Flowers
2. The Colony
3. Small Minds
4. Circles
5. For
6. Black Rhino Enterprises
7. Loving, Loving
8. The Cage
9. By Mothlight
10. New Nights

TOUR DATES
NOV 06 Mainz, Germany @ Schon Schon
NOV 08 Utrecht, Netherlands @ Le Guess Who? Fest
NOV 10 Cologne, Germany @ King Georg
NOV 11 Hamburg, Germany @ Uebel & Gefahrlich
NOV 13 Nottingham, United Kingdom @ Rough Trade Nottingham
NOV 14 London, United Kingdom @ The Shacklewell Arms
NOV 15 London, United Kingdom @ Rough Trade East
NOV 16 Paris, France @ Silencio
NOV 17 Lyon, France @ Grrrnd Zero
NOV 19 Luxembourg, Luxembourg @ Rotondes
NOV 20 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Kelder Paradiso
NOV 21 Valencia, Spain @ 16 Toneladas
NOV 22 Barcelona, Spain @ Razzmatazz
NOV 23 Madrid, Spain @ Sala 0
DEC 03 Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
DEC 12 Seattle, WA @ Columbia City Theater
DEC 13 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
DEC 15 San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
DEC 17 Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge
DEC 18 San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar