By Keith Walsh
Kindred cousins with shoegaze pioneers Cocteau Twins since the late 1980s, American rock band The Veldt just released their shelved debut album Illuminated 1989 on Little Cloud Records. Tracked at the Cocteau Twins’ September Sound Studio and produced by Robin Guthrie, Illuminated 1989 met with disapproval by Capitol Records, who sent the Veldt into a different studio to record Marigolds with producer Lincoln Fong. Recorded at New York’s RPM Records, Marigolds is a different record entirely.

Illuminated 1989 has many of the shimmering elements that presaged the immanence of the popularity of shoegaze; there are also variations on Motown bass, plaintive vocals, with rattling guitars and drums at times, funk guitar inklings, and dark post punk textures at others. Throughout the album, Guthrie’s influence is heard as he shares some of his sonic secrets, particularly in regards to guitar harmonies and production. On the other hand, while Marigolds contains a few of the same songs, none of Guthrie’s ornaments are present, and it leans more heavily into the post punk sound
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The fourth track on Illuminated 1989 is the blistering “Shallow By Shallow,” and it was the first track recorded for the album. Rare footage captured by Cocteau Twins Simon Raymonde in New York club The Ritz paired with the song was just released. It a hazy look at the past, newly remastered by Robin Guthrie, as is the entire disc of Illuminated 1989, now available for streaming and on vinyl, on translucent pink or clear.

‘Illuminated 1989’ At Bandcamp
‘Illuminated 1989’ On Spotify
Purchase ‘Illuminated 1989’ On Vinyl
Little Cloud Records
Robin Guthrie’s ‘Pearl Diving’ Album Review
Robin Guthrie Official Site
Cocteau Twins dot com
The Veldt On Facebook

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