There’s always going to be interesting sounds coming from a band featuring twins. Whether it’s the disco of the Bee Gees or the indie rock of The National, there’s some kind of chemistry and harmony that only comes from sharing genes. Guitarist Danny Chavis and singer Daniel Chavis, with their nearly identical names and their band, The Veldt, are just such a case study.
Formed in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1986, The Veldt are often categorized as shoegaze — Pitchfork named their 1994 debut, Afrodisiac, one of the 50 best shoegaze albums ever. To these ears The Veldt’s early work is more reminiscent of the early ’90s lo-fi grunge of Mudhoney or Screaming Trees. But since shoegaze heroes The Jesus and Mary Chain and Cocteau Twins had The Veldt open for them it’s probably best not to split hairs.
The Veldt’s newest LP, 2022’s Entropy Is The Mainline To God, does have a more effects-heavy wall of sound of the kind attributed to shoegaze. It’s also the first long-player The Veldt have put out since 1998’s Love At First Hate. And unlike with many veteran bands The Veldt’s later work is their best: The newer songs sound more assured, confident and accessible.
In the decades between The Veldt releases the brothers put out music and recorded as Apollo Heights after a music executive requested a name change. In the 2010s they re-emerged as The Veldt, the name they adopted from a Ray Bradbury short story.
Being African-Americans in a cultural space that skews Caucasian hasn’t been a deterrent. But it has posed challenges. The brothers have talked about being asked early on by club bookers if they were r&b or reggae, and later being pressed by industry suits for not sounding white enough. Danny Chavis told The Guardian in 2016 that the twins feel vindicated by following their own lights: “A lot of young black cats write to us, saying, ‘Hey man, I’m glad to see you guys doing this.’ Them telling me that is success enough for me. … Sometimes.”
The Veldt, opening for the Chameleons, perform 7pm Monday, October 28 at Respectable Street in West Palm Beach. theveldtmusic.bandcamp.com ~ David Rolland
