The Velveteers will release their highly anticipated sophomore album A Million Knives. Recorded in collaboration with The Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach, the new record will be released via Easy Eye Sound, Auerbach’s record label.

Their 2021 debut album Nightmare Daydream gave the band a sneak peek of superstardom following its release, as they were able to share the stage with the likes of Smashing Pumpkins and Guns N’ Roses.

Through their new album, The Velveteers have turned up the grit and grunge, offering a project that is a noisy and unbridled expression of love and vulnerability. Written by Demitro following a tough stretch of touring life, A Million Knives is a high-octane yet personal exploration of the journey of rock ‘n’ roll as told by a non-binary, queer, and women-led rock band.

Compared to their 2021 debut album, A Million Knives is brought with further ferocity and intensity while still maintaining the ethereal mystery that The Velveteers have made themselves known for. An incredibly punchy, fuzzy, and all-around addicting body of work, A Million Knives conveys just how far The Velveteers can go in terms of their sonic boundaries.

To truly understand A Million Knives, one must listen to it as a story told in two parts. The top half of the record, featuring singles such as “Suck The Cherry,” “Bound In Leather,” and “On And On,” set up a sensual and adventurous introduction. The album’s opening track, “All These Little Things,” drips in Queens of the Stone Age influence, and soon melts into “Suck The Cherry,” an unrelenting number that ensures listeners stay for good through dual drummers Baby Pottersmith and Johnny Fig masterful rhythm and impact.

The album maintains its thrilling edge until we arrive at the album’s title track, found right in the middle of the record. After following the crunchy guitars and intense musicality of “Sweet Little Hearts,” the song slows down its speed as we arrive at “A Million Knives.” A soft, acoustic confessional, the album’s title track makes a switch from the album’s seductive tone as Demitro admits to hiding her heart from the world and its pain. A true highlight on the album, “A Million Knives” is truly the heart of this body of work.

Throughout the album’s second act, we don’t quite make the return to its initial intensity. While the record’s magnetism is never quite distilled, some songs do seem to possess an energy that was prominent in Nightmare Daydream. The mystical “Moonchild” as well as the initial album single “Go Fly Away” – made in collaboration with The Black Keys – could just have easily been included on The Velveteer’s debut album.

However, despite staying true to their musical roots, A Million Knives as a whole still offers something new and thrilling for the truly devoted listeners of the band. If Nightmare Daydream was a record decorated in glitter that shined under neon lights, A Million Knives captures the feeling of realizing that glitter is not so easily scrubbed away, sticking to your skin and never letting go.

The album closes with three stellar tracks, starting with the acoustic number “Up Here.” Featherlight guitars coincide with Demi Demitro’s signature vocal prowess flawlessly, as she sings about the confidence and strength that comes with rising above a dark obstacle or relationship and finding who you truly are again. The following track, “Heaven,” maintains this vulnerability while rounding out the end of the album with a heavier composition.

Finally, the album ends with “Fix Me,” a captivating closing number that seems to express a desperate yearning for an escape from pain. As Demitro sings, “Fix me, fix me, I beg you please,” she is joined by a haunting sonic resonance, leaving metaphorical claw marks on listeners’ ears.

Ultimately, The Velveteers latest record – arriving on Valentine’s Day no less – is the ultimate soundtrack for those who have faced both heartache and euphoria. A Million Knives is cinematic in storytelling, and The Velveteers sink their teeth in with their musicality – one that embodies something of a sorrowful yet mysterious femme fatale. A record that embodies duality, A Million Knives captures both sides of the human spirit: playfulness and solitude, sorrow and strength, optimism and struggle. The album absolutely shreds, in every beautiful way possible.

Buy the new album here:
https://linktr.ee/thevelveteers

9 / 10
JUSTICE PETERSEN