The Veils @ Mercury Lounge: Preacher Son of a Man

With a nervous demeanor, booming voice and snazzy hat, The Veils' frontman Finn Andrews cemented his claim as one of the more important voices in British music. He might not realize it, but his show tonight at Mercury Lounge garners the type of attention that launches careers.

The setlist:

• Nux Vomica
• A Birthday Present
• Jesus for the Jugular
• Calliope!
• *Untitled New Song*
• Advice for Young Mothers to Be
• State Trooper
• Fearless Flyer
• Under the Folding Branches
• Not Yet

Another cover of State Trooper -- like Jarvis did! Hey, people recognize the Boss's skills.

With a voice that has elements of Bono, Nick Cave and James Walsh of Starsailor, Andrews conveys the type of hurt that makes you want to pat him on the back and tell him that everything will be okay. As you can tell in the pictures, he looks lime he's in pain or about to cry. It's all part of the act, although he looked pretty anxious for their semi-New York debut. As Bill from Sound Bites explained, this is the second incarnation of The Veils. Three years ago, Andrews played Mercury under the name The Veils, but had a complete different sound and line-up. So consider this The Veils Reloaded.

The new sound ranged from middle-of-the-road country rock to deep blues/soul rock. Although, my favorite song from them, "Advice for Young Mothers to Be," is more along the lines of classic, "Wall of Sound" pop. I would never would have pegged him for a Springsteen man but looking at the live act, it does have Bruce-like substance. He digs deep into his soul to find the right emotion for each song. He's like a preacher seeking redemption from wrong doing on a song like "A Birthday Present". The new album Nux Vomica is not to be missed where you can savor his wide-ranging vocals and the march-like drums and big guitar chords.

Finally, that's a sweet hat. He looks like that creepy, old preacher guy from Poltergeist 2.

Other blogs there, Brooklyn Vegan and Watercooler Wes.