Veronica Falls at St Leonard’s

I have recently discovered the real reason the Pope is giving up on wearing his natty white gown and driving about in his suped-up Pope-mobile to devote more of his time to chillaxing. He must have been present at St Leonard’s Church last Friday where Veronica Falls blew away the congregation with an outstanding set. Evidently it became clear to him that the best way to get bums on pews and religion back into the hearts and tweets of the young is to be in a swoonsome twee indie band which specialise in jangly guitar pop. It is not surprising that this idea must have dispirited Herr Ratzinger (as he is more of a dubstep or electo-crunk kind of guy) to such an extent that he had no choice but to step down.

Now I have got the frolicking introduction out of the way I must get to the important part of describing the actual gig. It goes without saying that Veronica Falls are more C86 then it is possible to be but what sometimes can seen somewhat one dimensional on record has a much fuller sound when you hear it live. St Leonard’s suits the band down to the ground with songs like ‘Found Love in a Graveyard’, ‘Stephen’ and ‘Wedding Day’ echoing hauntingly around the cavernous venue.

The purpose of tonight’s show, however, is to give the ears of Shoreditch of material of the new album Waiting for Something to Happen. I found the title track one of the more grating but there were some real gems in ‘Teenage’ and ‘Tell Me’. The noise pop that Veronica Falls hustle has evolved to become more muscular but still keeps its timid, eyes across the indie-disco dancefloor, quality.

The sold out show was crammed full and you couldn’t even fit another Japanesehipster girl in if you tried. There was a sense that the band were preaching to the converted but this should not detract from how accomplished the band were as a live prospect. The lo-fi fuzz of the records is lost and is replaced by a more elegant sheen. The last time I saw Veronca Falls, admittedly a few years ago now. was in the basement of a dingy record shop in Camden and they were bloody terrible. They had minimal presence and their lyrics were lost beneath a sea of feedback. I was startled by their transformation into indie heavyweights and I am sure that their latest release will be as their one time Rough Trade record of the month self-titled debut. I have never had so much fun in a church before (although I am not sure if this is a large accolade) and I definitely have Veronica Falls to thank for that.