The Vernes make music that sticks with you. Evident on their self-titled debut and even more pronounced on their newest album, Maybe I’ll Feel Better When I’m Dead, there’s a certain fascination with the seemingly unchangeable. Pent up frustration becomes indie rock songs with a touch of the otherworldliness and a ton of fuzzy guitar. Singer and guitarist Matthew Gragg’s voice can be piercing, petulant, and tender all in the same heightened tone. Together, this latest collection of songs find power in relatbility wound and bound by punches of fervor, sparkling textures, and the unexpected. The Vernes have found a delightful balance of respectfully maintaining a song’s original form and dressing it up just enough to make it shine as brightly as possible. There’s no better example than the album’s first track.
“Maybe I’ll Feel Better When I’m Dead” really hurls existential loneliness to the forefront. We wanted to find a way to pair that peculiar but familiar way they approach that deadening isolation in visual form. Taking the form of red balloons who’ve floated their way into an abandoned classroom atop the Bok Building, the band pop from the muted hues and dust of the school as they blaze through a live version of their latest album’s titular track. Joe Michelini of American Trappist (who also recorded the album) joined in on bass guitar for this rendition, shifting the members around on instruments and creating more depth in the anthemic song.
Our forever visual magician, Bob Sweeney, and resident master of audio, Jake Detwiler, brought together the grit of the space and the song with polish and finesse. This will be the last session we release for awhile and we are happy to have spent it with The Vernes, Crosby Clouse, and our pal Colin McCarry proving that heat really does rise to the top of every building. Watch the video while you’re waiting on the corner and share it with your friends.
“Maybe I’ll Feel Better When I’m Dead” Original:
