best of 2017: vérité "somewhere in between"
THE ARTIST
VÉRITÉ. If you didn’t know the name, now you do. According to media reports, the singer-songwriter’s sound is dubbed “alternative pop” or “indie pop,” but I just like to refer to her as 2017’s Most Underrated Artist. Yes, it might sound like a stretch, but hear me out and I’m sure you’ll see it my way.
THE VOCALS
From her crisp, clear vocals with a side of unintentional raspiness to round out the sound, VÉRITÉ is able to take an ordinary pop song and make it worth listening to. Her uncanny ability to rip through notes without dropping a beat can give the best of singers chills.
THE DEBUT ALBUM
Somewhere In Between, released in June 2017, mixes an array of sounds featuring pinches of EDM mixed in with pure flavors of pop. With this only being her first album, I’m amazed how VÉRITÉ has already mastered the art of taking the darkest of lyrics and turning them into irresistible, upbeat dance songs (i.e. “When You’re Gone” and “Death of Me”).
The album tells the story of two people slowly falling in and out of love, weaving their way through a dysfunctional relationship. Throughout the album, you hear her questioning her feelings to the point where she contemplates giving up all together. “Bout You” and “Need Nothing” are perfect examples of where the artist reminds herself that she doesn’t need someone else to dictate her feelings, and if she has to give up her relationship to be in control of them, she’ll do it.
The title track “Somewhere In Between” brings VÉRITÉ back to reality: inviting old thoughts of previous decisions and making the discovery that she might have caused her relationship problems to begin with. The lyric, “there’s a line that I drew” lets us know she’s not really sure what she wants to do about the dead space she’s created between herself and her partner in these songs.
By the end of the last song, “Freedom of Falling,” the storyline concludes without an actual ending. Rather than a traditional story, the album reads more as a breakthrough album. After all of the pain and searching, in the end, she finds her answer. “Freedom of Falling” encapsulates this very idea of breaking down those walls of fear and choosing to walk into uncharted territory regardless of success or not. She discovers that it’s better to fall and fail than to never try at all. My own takeaway is that this mindset doesn’t just apply to relationships – it inherently applies to the learned ability to take a chance, even with the knowledge of what could happen. Good or bad.
THE FUTURE
VÉRITÉ released her first single “Strange Enough” in 2014 and now she’s finally got an album under belt. This girl is just getting started and has a lot more to say. So don’t mind me, I’ll just be patiently waiting for Part Two of her story. How about you?
Illustration by Sarah Caroline. Based on the VÉRITÉ Somewhere In Between album photo.