Bio HERE
For more info, contact: administrator@vedarays.com
More hi-res photos over HERE
"With a foundation which skillfully amalgamates elements from post punk, dreampop and darkwave, New York's Veda Rays have been putting an edge on their sharp sound for a few years now. The band's latest release, last year's Crucial Fictions is the pinnacle of that dark combination, as well as a showcase of their sharpest songwriting to date."..."Crucial Fictions is an album full of potential singles, and Past Gone is the fourth video off it; an eloquent, perfectly produced and poignantly delivered dark pop number which finds flawless visual accompaniment in a video.." -- Destroy//Exist http://www.destroyexist.com/2022/01/de-premiere-veda-rays-past-gone-video.html
"...the track’s trance-inducing pacing and hypnotic repetition of the bell-like keyboard line, the band creates a perfect ritual space for the delivery of James Stark’s shaman-turned-cult leader invocations." -- Alice Teeple, Post-Punk.com https://post-punk.com/veda-rays-wander-a-haunted-forest-in-their-video-for-fall-in-fall-in-all-down-the-well/
"...Crucial Frictions, which is an album bursting with sounds and emotions and yet has a coherent thread running through it which is worthy of your attention." -- Julia Mason, God Is In The TV https://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2021/10/28/veda-rays-crucial-fictions-veda-rays/
"I am such a sucker for the sort of dancy, dreamy post-punk that Veda Rays does so well. While I’ll tell you that I want to listen to the most morose music out there … that’s a bit of a front. What I want is stuff like Crucial Fictions, the recently relocated band’s new album. " -- Yoni Kroll, The Skeleton Key https://thekey.xpn.org/2021/10/15/the-skeleton-key-october-2/
"This new longplayer ‘Crucial Fictions’ is their third full-length work and it feels like the band has reached a significant stopover on their sonic quest. It feels like they finally arrived where they wanted to be, so far."..."Past, present, future, this music genre is about translating all sorts of human afflictions, real and fictional, into heartrending and impassioned tunes that connect, that comfort and that soothe as it also happens right here with Veda Rays‘ new chapter. Don’t put on the lights to dance, it’s more thrilling to move around in the dark." -- Turn Up The Volume https://turnupthevolume.blog/2021/11/02/brooklyn-nightdreamers-veda-rays-dance-in-the-dark-with-gloomy-synth-pop-album-crucial-fictions/
"Their latest single, “Dissonance,” sees Veda Rays continuing to do what they do best, which is creating eerily atmospheric music that draws influence from 80s darkwave and synth-pop..." Tom Gallo, Look At My Records! https://www.lookatmyrecords.com/premieres/2021/5/28/veda-rays-dissonance
"The Brooklyn band are teasing the release with the new wavey first single ‘Rose Likes Leather‘. Built around a nagging drum machine beat, glimmering synths, menacing bass lines and stabbing guitars. It swoops with a ominous baritone vocal that collides into an epic devoted chorus that swirls with the echoes of early Simple Minds." -- Bill Cummings, God Is In The TV Zine https://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2021/03/20/news-veda-rays-tease-second-album-with-swirling-and-epic-new-single-rose-likes-leather/
"it stirs up psychic sediment, rouses sleeping shadows." -- Side-Line https://www.side-line.com/post-punk-act-veda-rays-readies-new-lp-crucial-fictions/
"As goth kings The Cure and synth-goth auteurs Depeche Mode, and Nine Inch Nails all celebrate decades together, allow us to introduce a band picking up their overcast, atmospheric baton. Veda Rays (singer/guitarist James Stark, keyboardist Maria Joanna Bohemia, and drummer Jason Gates) release their second album tomorrow (13th July) and it’s a gloriously gloomy listen. ‘For The Rest To Rest’ cherry-picks the dappled shoegaze of Cocteau Twins, deep croon of Morrissey, steely post-punk urgency and more, and melds them into its own glimmering thing. " -- Rhian Daly, DIY mag http://diymag.com/2018/07/12/new-york-neu-york-july-2018-column-veda-rays-bodega-sunflower-bean
"...a philosophical romp through surrealism and abstraction... illustrates the deep questions about existence and mortality." -- Post-punk.com https://post-punk.com/love-lasts-forever-in-brooklyn-post-punk-act-veda-rays-video-for-rose-likes-leather/
"James Stark, on 'Crucial Fictions': ...They (fans) can expect the best, most realized Veda Rays material to date." -- interview w/ Judy Lyons, TORCHED! Magazine https://torchedmagazine.com/2021/06/25/brooklyns-post-punk-veda-rays-premiere-video-for-dissonance-share-thoughts-with-torched2/
"Evolution in music is inevitable, incorporating influences from different eras and genres. Veda Rays are adding their own imprint." Miami Music Buzz https://miamimusicbuzz.com/music/veda-rays-crucial-fictions-veda-rays/
" ...blends urgency, atmosphere, and songcraft to create a fitting backdrop for the memorable words and melodies." -- Spill Magazine https://spillmagazine.com/spill-new-music-veda-rays-dissonance/
"Brooklyn post-punk trio Veda Rays has been hitting us with their hazy yet urgent take on the genre for some time now, and last year’s For the Rest to Rest was a serious heavy-hitter for those in the know." -- Ben Handleman https://www.cvltnation.com/getting-up-close-range-with-veda-rays-new-music-video/
"A consistent New York sound pervades the entirety of For The Rest To Rest, the newest release by Brooklyn trio Veda Rays; it’s one that reads like a sly nod to records like Room On Fire and Antics and a continuation of the very same raucous hellraising indie that characterizes the Big Apple’s sonic aesthetic.","Veda Rays solidify themselves as expert purveyors of indie, pushing NYC’s sound in a direction that develops the city's sonic traditions while quoting them." -- Connor Beckett McInerney http://nyc.thedelimagazine.com/37839/veda-rays-push-indie-forward-on-for-rest-rest-play-footlight-1117
“For fans of goth influenced post-punk, this 11-song collection is a refreshing listen, as it transcends some of the more common trappings of the genre…” --
https://bushwickdaily.com/bushwick/categories/bushwick-bandstand/5588-bushwick-veda-rays-release-the-excellent-for-the-rest-to-rest-plus-the-best-shows-in-bushwick-this-week
"Veda Rays is not a band for easy listening. Their music and sound are complex and layered. Their lyrics standout amongst their New York City peers as super informed, thoughtful, and multifaceted. They demand the attention and focus of their listeners. Veda Rays is one of the smartest bands to come out of Brooklyn in a very long time."_https://www.sweetstatic.com/music/review/veda-rays-for-the-rest-to-rest/
"With crepuscular, chiming pop akin to Kitchens of Distinction or The Chameleons, replete with a rhythm section capable of achieving the dynamics necessary to render this style of music vital...", "...when so many are content to languish in ennui, Veda Rays cut through to the bone marrow with their twilit intensity." _https://rockandrollglobe.com/punk/a-dozen-great-brooklyn-bands-not-getting-their-due/
"They have a sound that evokes comps to bands such as The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Joy Division. Thoughtful and thought-provoking, Veda Rays is a band that is poised for a breakout where they could potentially occupy a significant role pushing the envelope of the alt and indie genres both musically and intellectually." _https://www.altrevue.com/single-post/2018/08/26/Artist-Spotlight---Veda-Rays
" there’s complex and provocative tones that will make you repeat tracks." -- Karen Silva https://beardedgentlemenmusic.com/2018/10/23/veda-rays-for-the-rest-to-rest-revew/
"Ardent contemplations drenched in passionate and sparkling orchestrations. Both darksome and elevating. An amplified blend of electrifying sentiments with sonic echoes of 80s British New Romanticism. From dreamy ballads to glowing flares. Starry-eyed!" https://turnupthevolume.blog/tag/veda-rays/
"...a mystical visual presentation ... a fittingly disorienting match for the band’s catchy, albeit gloomy post-punk sound in the vein of Interpol or early material by The National." -- Jeff Terich, Treble Zine https://www.treblezine.com/premiere-veda-rays-the-upside-down-tree-video/
"As for Veda Rays as a whole, well, they’re the real deal, with a cerulean-soaked sound that could’ve been adjacent to the Batcave but has also been long cultivated in the Brooklyn scene." -- Mary Grace Garis, AudioFemme http://www.audiofemme.com/morning-after-vegan-noodles-veda-rays/
"...honing a modernized shape of post-punk / shoegaze / darkwave / what have you, and making it their own." -- JP Basileo, Impose http://www.imposemagazine.com/bytes/new-music/stream-veda-rays-new-ep-shadow-side
"This is an excellent offering, fresh and exciting, at times it brings unexpected pleasures to the senses, Veda Rays are a band to take note of for the future if this release is a signpost of whats to come." -- Kevin Burke http://www.peek-a-boo-magazine.be/en/reviews/veda-rays-for-the-rest-to-rest/
"Given the ambiance and arrangements, Veda Rays showcases the abilities to create that full wall of sound to make “For The Rest To Rest” a palatable listen. It’s one of those albums that is just a solid album from front to back, especially as you listen to it more. Madness To Creation gives this a solid 8 out of 10 stars." -- https://madnesstocreation.net/2018/11/11/album-review-for-the-rest-to-rest-by-veda-rays/
"An epic air perpetuates "For The Rest To Rest" -- https://theblogthatcelebratesitself.blogspot.com/2019/02/for-rest-to-rest-with-veda-rays.html
" James Stark, the frontman of the goth-influenced post-punk trio Veda Rays, helmed the remix, adding what he describes as his own “weird and hypnotic” imprint to the track." -- https://bushwickdaily.com/bushwick/categories/bushwick-bandstand/5792-premier-big-bliss-drops-veda-rays-remix-of-surface
" the pop fluency of the ‘Furs is crystalized and coalesced by the hollowed quietly euphoric clarion calls of the Church and the Chameleons." -- Mark Barton https://marklosingtoday.wordpress.com/2018/11/10/veda-rays-3/
"oscillates with a tragic glamour somewhere between early Interpol andThe Mission," -- Bill Cummings http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2018/11/07/votw-94-veda-rays-doublespeak/
"I kind of got off on the idea of them coming across almost unassumingly…innocuously, even. I’ve always been a big fan of things that would lure me in out of curiosity or passing interest, get hooks in me, then completely mutate into otherness the more I stayed in their world." -- James Stark https://www.floatedmag.com/single-post/2018/10/02/Veda-Rays-Track-By-Track-Commentary-and-Conceptual-Breakdown-Notes
Pre-2017
"...at once ghostly and western, lacquered in melancholy..." -- DJ Pangburn, Death and Taxes Magazine http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/171718/download-the-veda-rays-old-long-since-now/
"The Veda Rays released this creepy, what the band is calling a Mulholland Drive influenced video for the melancholic song “Time is a Vise” featuring the lovely vocals of Julee Cruise, known for her work with David Lynch & Angelo Badalementi..." -- My Old Kentucky Blog http://www.myoldkentuckyblog.com/?p=36067
"Channeling in part the noir, epic atmospheres of early Depeche Mode post-Vince-Clarke-departure, in part the romanticism of Duran Duran at their creative peak "Rio", this is an extremely well written, performed and produced song that bodes well for the band's upcoming full length release, scheduled for later in 2014." --The Deli Mag NYC http://nyc.thedelimagazine.com/17646/veda-rays-premiere-waiting-for-teeth-show-from-upcoming-release-play-death-by-audio-tonight-04
"...shrouded in dark glamour and positively electrified in pulse racing friction bleeds a throbbing floor trashing juggernaut whose shadow lined electro chic is indelibly shimmered in 80’s vibes chilled by the cold wave minimalism of B-Movie at the height of their powers and vampishly torn asunder by the uber cooled strut geared pop savvy of white rose movement." -- The Sunday Experience http://marklosingtoday.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/veda-rays/
"The overall effect is one of a gothic and glittering midnight hour, as if Dracula himself had donned a glittering coat and embraced Pop Art. It’s dark and thrilling music, able to impart a fully formed vision."-- Zero Music Radio, http://www.zeromusicradio.com/catalog.php?tstamp=2013/11/03%2023:59:59%20+0000#
"Becoming one of the most influential underground bands in the current Brooklyn scene, Veda Rays are everywhere, sometimes multiple places at once. Well, almost. Every time I see them they’ve evolved in a different way and have written 387 more songs, or thereabouts. These men are not your average musicians. They create this mysterious ambiance every time they play, with their own sound of alternative dark wave noir. They’ve also just added two new members, filling out the band with live synth and bass, so they’re working with more texture than ever on new tunes like “Below the Stars” and “Wait For Teeth To Show.” -- Kelly Knapp, Best New Bands http://bit.ly/1aNPaiU
"The Veda Rays‘ debut disc, Gamma Rays Galaxy Rays Veda Ray, should have their phone ringing come festival season next year. A first album can suffer, at times, from a lack of focus, but it’s clear during this short nine-song disc that they are certain about who they are and what their sound is." -- Kevin Barber, Consequence of Sound http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/09/album-review-the-veda-rays-gamma-rays-galaxy-rays-veda-rays/
"When a band generates comparisons with such luminaries as Spacemen 3, Echo & The Bunnymen and Deerhunter amongst others then it has to be worth further investigation. And in most cases, it turns out those comparisons are spurious at best, so it is always a real treat to come across the real deal." -- The Mad Mackerel http://madmackerel.org/2012/09/12/introducing-the-veda-rays/
"The slow, thoughtful nature of the song and deep lyrics leave room for reflection and only add to the anticipation ..." -- The Silver Tongue http://thesilvertongueonline.com/2011/12/the-veda-rays-release-new-song-for-new-years/
"Brooding and bombastic, Veda Rays jams straddle Echo and the Bunnymen-style ’80s psychedelia and U2 stadium pop. There’s also some modern ennui: a post-Radiohead dread that creeps into both the guitars and Jim Stark’s Red Rocks-ready bellow, giving the disc a seductive, shadowy tinge."-- M Music and Musician's Magazine http://mmusicmag.com/m/2011/11/the-veda-rays/
"Stark and company clearly have a knack for taking people to some strange and unexpected destinations. And maybe that's the point. The album doesn't take you for a ride; it takes you someplace vividly unforgettable." -- Liquid [Hip] alternative review site http://t.co/RiuECZ3L
"They don't make bands like the Veda Rays anymore! Which is great news for these lean, mean, dexterous, dangerous lads..." -- Tom Semioli, AMPLIFIER Magazine http://amplifiermagazine.blogspot.com/2011/09/veda-rays.html
"Sweeping six strings, emotional vocals, and driving drums are everywhere, courtesy of a band determined to deliver on the promise of its dense melodies." --David Weiss, Sonicscoop.com http://www.sonicscoop.com/2011/09/25/mixing-in-the-face-of-danger-the-veda-rays-release-gamma-rays-galaxy-rays-veda-rays/
"It reminds me a lot of Achtung Baby-era U2...yes, that large in scale and ambition, though obviously recorded with far fewer resources. You can also draw connections to more critically-accepted bands like Spaceman 3 and Radiohead." -- Jennifer P. Kelly, 30 Seconds Over http://30secondsover.blogspot.com/2012/01/veda-rays.html
"...Led by singer-guitarist Jim Stark, the band describes their sound as “Art-house rock & roll.” The opener “All Your Pretty Fates” hints at a Pulp-like, Brit-rock style. “Honey Pot” follows with a nod to 80′s-era The Cure or Jesus & Mary Chain. “Our Ford” mingles Garage rock with shimmering, muffled pop, and “Deleted” begins as an unexpectedly sparse ballad before launching into space.” -- Muruch, Editor/Head Writer, Victoria
http://www.muruch.com/2011/09/the-veda-rays-gamma-rays-galaxy-rays-veda-rays.html
“The Veda Rays are a darkly inspiring spiral galaxy I get immersed in. This is art rock for a tougher crowd.” – David Weiss, founder/editor of www.sonicscoop.com
"Akin to numerous legendary ensembles of yore ...The Rays were borne in a swaggering haze of sex, drugs (metaphorically speaking) and of course, rock 'n' roll. Yet unlike a bazillion indie rockers, contemporary and otherwise, the Rays know how to write songs that stick in your memory banks!" -- Tom Semioli, AMPLIFIER Magazine