When 17-year-old Finn Andrews left New Zealand to come to London and make the big time, he hinted at the confidence and self-belief that simply pours out of The Runaway Found. Listening to the opening tracks it’s no surprise the band, the label and the record followed so quickly. What’s astonishing is that the Blanco Y Negro label let them slip back out of their grasp because of ‘artistic differences’ – Were they kidding? Did they even listen to the tapes?
Once again The Veils’ showed a supreme self-assurance as they effortlessly switched to Rough Trade Records and this brilliant piece of poetic rock is the result. Grind Morrissey through the Britpop filter and out comes the rasping tones of Andrews; it’s eerie how close the two sound, particularly in songs such as ‘The Wild Son’ or ‘The Tide That Left and Never Came Back’ – it’s how Starsailor should sound but never will.
But The Veils are more than just a one-trick band. The darkly hypnotic ‘More Heat Than Light’ shows the band at their most potent, while ‘The Valleys of New Orleans’ shows they’re not afraid of the power ballad.
Oozing style, assurance, class and just the right amount of wickedness The Runaway Found is intoxicating stuff.