Free and legal MP3 from the Veils (engaging, well-conceived rock'n'roll)

"The Letter" - the Veils
     Finn Andrews and company return with an assured piece of rock'n'roll theater: engaging, well-performed, and rewardingly dramatic, featuring a full-fledged, recurring instrumental motif the likes of which has all but disappeared from the 21st-century rock scene. I'm talking about the ringing guitar line that opens the song; at least, I think that's a guitar--the sound is slippery and intriguing, and even though you can sing the melody easily back to yourself, you can't quite tell what's making it. When the theme returns later, braided into that sleek, idiosyncratic chorus, I can't help but smile with a wordless sort of delight at the vivid economy on display. "She wrote the letter down" is all Andrews sings, twice, and--via that delay between "letter" and "down," and the delicious melodic sidestep he takes on the second "down"--yet manages to open up a world of struggle and drama. I can't figure out what else he's singing about but, as is often the case (see above) when a gifted singer gets hold of a good song, it doesn't seem to matter.
     As noted last time around, Andrews is the son of Barry Andrews, once a sideman in XTC, later frontman for Shriekback. The Veils have gone through a variety of incarnations since their 2002 inception; the current, multinational quartet features two from New Zealand (including Andrews), a German, and a Brit. "The Letter" is from the band's new CD, Sun Gangs, released last week on Rough Trade Records. MP3 via the Beggars Group web site.