Writing Verona
Article by Katie Mishner
New Music : Writing Verona
It is believed that originality is dying within music; bands are beginning to sound and look the same. However, this isn’t the case at all for the young band Writing Verona from South East London.
With only forming late 2011, they’ve already recorded their impressing track “Bulletproof”. The song begins with a very catchy, engaging guitar riff, nicely backed up with strong bass and drums. With a closing fill from drummer Mark Reddie, verse 1 is opened. Vocals are soft, almost pop punk esque with echoing backing vocals, the verse is kept very subtle among guitars with softer drums until the chorus is brought in and backing vocals are turned into screams, which have a perfect tone for this song may I add. In contrast, the next verse is heavier using screamed vocals and obvious guitar in comparison to last verse, we’re then brought back to my favourite part of the song.. The chorus. Before the song comes to an end, singing over a light guitar track and once its seems to be over, the sound of guitar at a slower pace is brought in, and the breakdown has begun with perfect accompaniment of screaming and china cymbal. The end of the breakdown sees the end of the song, excellent place to end.
I spoke to the drummer of VW Mark Reddie, and he told me that “Bulletproof wasn’t really driven by inspiration me, George (Guitar), Josh(Screams) and Sam(Vocals) had just scrapped our old band because we didn’t care to play Pop-Punk anymore, and we just got into the studio with the sole intention to write a song that displayed all sides of a Pop-Punk band. A part of us just wanted to write pop-punk like You Me At Six, whilst still trying to write a song that was like The Devil Wears Prada mixed with Pierce the Veil/Sleeping With Sirens”
To me, post hardcore is about contrasting two different genres. Writing Verona demonstrates with the harsher vocals alongside the soft singing vocals, and the transition between what the guitars are playing and the dynamics of the drums. Although Writing Verona have kept the element of Pop Punk, there is a clear development of a new genre. What is also apparent is the mixture of influencing bands on this band. Maybe we’ll see a precise change in the music of Writing Verona.. Or maybe they’ll continue to play around until their sound is made. But what they have written now is a lot of potential.
Considering this band is made up of 14-17 year olds, who formed late this year. They’re already excellent and definitely a band that stand out to me within the British post hardcore genre, though there is something different about them, it’s hard to point it out but I believe that it will become apparent to us when they record their new song “Sailing on Dangerous Waters”.
I expect to see this band grow in years to come. I expect 2012 to be a great year for them and by 2014 I see those guys becoming leaders in the UK genre.
Writing Verona will be recording their new song in January, then going on to play Camden Barfly 26th February.
In the meantime, you can check them out here:
Darkus with Sir D 