ORIGINAL PHOTO CREDIT: Nicola Sandford
Recently named ‘Best Alternative Artist’ at the 2022 Aotearoa Music Awards, Wellington-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Vera Ellen has announced her upcoming album, Ideal Home Noise, which is out digitally and on both red or black vinyl and CD on Friday March 31st, 2023 via Flying Nun Records.
Alongside the new album announcement, Vera has shared the first single from the album, ‘Carpenter’ with a Sports Team directed video — plus, Vera Ellen and her band will take to the road on album release for a four-date tour of Aotearoa, playing headline shows in Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. Tickets onsale now from Banished Music.
Ideal Home Noise is a record unearthed from much introspection and an attempt to find some comedy and lightness in an otherwise dark period for Vera Ellen. With two "voices” battling throughout the album, the instrumentation is sometimes light — featuring synths and electronic drums — and sometimes heavy — with ballad-like piano and raw vocals.
After the critical success of her 2021 album, It’s Your Birthday — which earned the artist both the ‘Best Alternative Artist’ award at the 2022 AMA’s as well as a 2022 Taite Award nomination — Vera’s momentum is unstoppable with her new 13 track album raring to go. “If It's Your Birthday was about relationships and love and strife between myself and others; then Ideal Home Noise is about love and strife between myself and myself.“
The record was tracked at Wellington studio, The Surgery, with the talented multi-instrumentalist Ben Lemi (of Trinity Roots, French For Rabbits and Dawn Diver fame) on production and engineering duties. “Ben helped bring the record to life from my initial demos in a very organic way” says Vera.
About the video, Annabel Kean of Sports Team has said "It's been a total dream working with Vera Ellen and the band on the visuals for their new music. Sports Team are massive Vera Ellen fans (I was the person crying tears of joy when they opened for Marlon Williams at The Civic last month) and have been hankering to do a music video series for an artist for ages. Please enjoy our ode to Near Dark (1987) in the clip for 'Carpenter' - we hope it leaves you confused enough to want to see what happens next, but not so confused that you feel like you've just watched Tenet (2020) for the first time."
On the name of the upcoming album, Ideal Home Noise, Vera explains that she came across the phrase in a book, while house-sitting a Malibu property formerly occupied by The Beach Boys. Since then, the words have been recycled through various notebooks and phone apps, somehow remaining in the artist’s subconscious all these years later.
In a very personal statement about Ideal Home Noise, Vera Ellen has summarised “My songs have been my friends, my lovers, my enemies. I have been their biggest critic and fan and they have been mine. And as for this album, you will hear my pain up close, but you can take comfort knowing I wouldn't trade it for the world. So here we go, to another album. One of many more (I hope).”
Ideal Home Noise is out digitally and on both red or black vinyl and CD on Friday March 31st, 2023 via Flying Nun Records.
31 March - Dive, Dunedin
1 April - Wunderbar, Christchurch
14 April - Whammy, Auckland
15 April - San Fran, Wellington
