Comprised of Troels Abrahamsen (vocals, synth), David Krough Andersen (guitar), Mark Lee (guitar, synth), Jens Skov Thomsen (bass, backing vocals) and Mads Hasager (drums), the Danish indie rock quintet VETO formed back in 2004 — and with the release of their 2005 debut EP, I Will Not Listen and their 2006 full-length debut, There’s A Beat In All Machines, the quintet quickly developed a reputation as one of Denmark’s hottest, up-and-coming acts; in fact, the the band won Best New Act and Best Danish Music Video at the 2007 Danish Music Awards. Interestingly, album track “You Are A Knife” was briefly featured on an episode of NCIS.
Building upon a growing profile, 2008’s Crushing Digits featured album single “Built to Fail,” which received heavy radio airplay on Danish radio station DR P3, and as a result, the band won the Danish Band of the Year at the 2009 Danish Music Awards. The band released two more full-length albums, 2011’s Everything is Amplified and 2013’s Point Break, both of which were recored and released during an intense touring schedule that according to the members of the band had them constantly on the road over the course of a 3 year period. In fact, the Danish indie quintet initially began recording their fifth, full-length effort 16 Colors back in 2014, after taking a year off from touring. “We had to retrieve our drive, and creativity demanded both time and space in order to flourish once more. This saw us parting ways with our record label and business partners, and granted us with a calmer, freer approach to the creative process. We worked alongside producer Mikel Bolding over a two-year period, influencing our sound by introducing us to the world of analogue recording. ”
“A Pit,” the first single off 16 Colors is a gorgeous and moody track that balances being both cinematic and intimate as it features Abrahmsen’s soaring and operatic falsetto paired with of jangling guitar, propulsive drumming and a lush string arrangement, and while reminding me a bit of Coco Beware-era Caveman, Flora-era Fredrik and Antony and the Johnsons, the song’s lyrics possess a novelist’s attention to detail. As the band explains “‘A Pit’ circles the psychological problem around one only having symbols available to understand – experiencing a sort of alienation against the world, as a result. There is a reality that we cannot reach which is outside of our language, our symbols. We can’t get a pure reprieve from the constant stream of news that floods us daily. Could it be that the stream alters to ‘fit’ us? Or do we involuntarily see all impressions through a prism that transforms to our symbols, languages and interpretations?”
