Vaureen is an experimental rock band composed of Marianne Do (bass), Andrea Horne (vocals, guitar), and Cale Hand (drums).
If you’re looking for a wistful sound full of distortion pedals and a female voice as a “frontman,” get trippy with the Brooklyn trio Vaureen.
The band takes its name Vaureen based on the French term le vaurien, aka “deviant” in the sense of something which is no good. But is it “no good” so much as “different”, one ponders wonder after hearing their latest offering, a three song EP, “Violence”. The band is definitely not mainstream or expected. A lot of their signature style in their release feels like a wave of distortion pedals set to vocals. Yep - just like you’re listening to a band tuning up or like the weirdest parts of the “Arrival” soundtrack - but it isn’t annoying; it’s compelling because it’s distinct.
People need things that push the boundaries of what’s expected in order to make new discoveries. There’s something haunting about two girls singing a line of “bring together the heart and the head” in a jilted harmony, perhaps because of its ghost-like soaring over a distortion pedal-fueled background in the song “Before the Rectangles Take Over.” It’s definitely one of a kind.
It’s no wonder that they’re experimental in sound. Band founders Andrea and Marianne members actually met while working at the forefront of technology, a digital agency in NYC. And they have stated that they’re not trying to do mainstream, Andrea commenting on her band’s goal as simply: “We’re not writing bubblegum pop... Our songs are often nasty things being driven out by necessity.”
While that intention does sounds violent or evil, oddly, it isn’t the feel of the track. If anything, they sound sad, wistful, hollow... in a word, haunted.
If you’d like to hear this ghost for yourself, check out the full release Violence, available through their website here.
Band Vaureen kicks back. (Photo courtesy of Jaka Vinsek)