Vera Sola – Peacemaker | soundsfromthedarkside

Vera Sola_FRONT_SFTDS In the mood for some dystopian world building infused with American legacy? Vera Sola has you covered with her second full album Peacemaker.

If you have a thing for Agnes Obel, Giant Sand and Nancy Sinatra you should consider Vera Sola as the next promise in the field of soulful and haunting indie folk. Vera Sola, who’s real name is Danielle Aykroyd, has always been shy about her roots although it’s no secret that she is the daughter of actor Dan Aykroyd. Danielle was determined to pursue a musical career of her own and hence took a stage name. As Vera Sola she released her first full work in 2018. On Shades her distinct vibrato singing impressed many but also kept us guessing for a long time what more she could brew up from the half-light. Now finally the wait is over.

Vera Sola’s sophomore album, Peacemaker, is a mesmerising journey through a sonic landscape that blends genres such as folk, indie alt rock and americana. Building on the foundations laid down by her on her debut, this latest offering delves deeper into the complexities of human emotions but also brings forth new forms of sonic richness and depth. For the latter she worked out a vision and brought it to life with a talented ensemble of over a dozen musicians. Compared to Shades, Peacemaker is a more expansive and immersive listening experience that is strongly designed from her own artistic ideas.

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From the haunting elegance of Desire Path, with its rich strings and ghostly pedal steel, to the energetic The Line and Blood Bond, Vera Sola demonstrates her dynamic skill as a vocalist and songwriter. Both tracks evoke images of the American Old West with its tension building violence, gunslingers and sundown horseback rides. The punchy bassline of The Line even directly reminds of the desert rock catalogue of Giant Sand. These sort of parallels come forth every now and then. Get Wise has something of Tom Waits’ monumental album Rain Dogs while Waiting is clearly influenced by Nancy Sinatra’s work.

Throughout Peacemaker, she explores themes of love, loss, and violence with a keen sense of introspection and insight. On Is That You? she explores grief and how memory is influenced by certain objects that once belonged to a loved one while on closer Instrument of War she picks up her cinematic side again by laying down a vicious narrative about the religions-fatalistic cornerstones of American identity. Here she sings: “Lord make me an instrument of war. Lord pack me my pistol, bring me my sword. Load me up with landmines. Bury me in concubines. Take me downtown where the bullets are”.

This second creative instalment of Vera Sola is a rooted work in many ways. But perhaps what is most striking about Peacemaker is its timeless appeal as it invites us into the word beauty and danger and lines between both are far from clear. Her craftly arrangements and often darkish lyrics captivate and are the next milestone in the artistic evolution of Vera Sola. Need more references to hype you up? Angel Olsen, Timber Timbre, Nick Cave. Now off you go and (virtually) bag this one at your favourite record supplier.