Veer Union - Against the Grain

Genre alternative Publisher Universal Motown External Links Veer Union Myspace

Having received a major mainstream push by having their single “Seasons” as the theme song for the WWE’s pay-per-view “Backlash”, one would think alternative band Veer Union is just another desperate band with a bland sound. Surprisingly, their new disc Against the Grain is exactly that, different.

While Veer Union isn’t breaking new ground exactly, they aren’t the typical alternative band either. They are not trying to be another Nickelback with similar sounding mid-to-slightly heavy songs. It also doesn’t hurt that this is a band with an uplifting message of hope, which, truthfully, in the hard rock world is extremely rare.

It also begs the question why in the first place professional wrestling contacted them for a single. Outside of “Seasons” being slightly heavy as well as being catchy, it is not a violent song in the least. It is more of an introspective song with lyrics like “I’m turning the page for something new, I’m finding my way through life in bloom.” Much like the rest of Against the Grain, “Seasons” is uplifting.

To be clear though, the members of Veer Union aren’t wordsmiths with capabilities of singer-songwriters. Not by a long shot. What they are able to do is craft some hard rock songs about looking towards the future, mending bad relationships as well as one’s self, unlike the dark and sometimes violent scenarios many alternative bands tend to lean toward.

As much ingenuity Veer Union has in their lyrical themes, musically, they aren’t particularly different from bands in their genre. Vocally, frontman Crispin doesn’t sound any different than the bands he’s competing against such as Rev Theory and Burn Halo. His voice isn’t deep and rough like Eddie Vedder, and it most certainly doesn’t hit high registers either. Simply put, you could put any other vocalist in the genre as the frontman of Veer Union and have it sound exactly the same.

Instrumentally, there’s nothing too complicated with the cuts from the album outside of a couple decent guitar solos. Against the Grain is just heavy enough to keep your attention but not to the point where you would feel the urge to bang your head either.

What does separate them musically though is the fact that they do vary their approach from song to song. Some songs are straight up rockers, while there are a few ballads on the disc as well as some tracks that combine the two. Veer Union even changes their sound at the end of the disc slightly with the piano-driven “What Have We Done” juxtaposed to the guitar, bass and drum sound. By changing their approach on this final track, they create an epic sound to conclude the album.

Despite Veer Union’s marketing efforts, they are not a bad band. If you are sick of the same alternative songs played over and over on the radio, you might enjoy Against the Grain as it is somewhat different. However, don’t get too excited because Veer Union isn’t exactly going to turn the rock world on its head either.