The Veer Union delivers an angst-fuelled Divide the Blackened Sky

Divide the Blackened Sky (Adaptation/Rocket Science)

The Veer Union makes the sort of music that is virtually guaranteed to earn it disdain from hipper-than-thou critics, who won’t be able to do anything but sneer impotently from the safety of their musty basement suites while the band plays ever-bigger venues to a devoted and growing fan base. Centred on the partnership of singer Crispin Earl and guitarist Eric Schreaeder, the Veer Union has a definite talent for creating testosterone-steeped man rock that seems destined for an FM–radio station near you.

Not surprisingly, it also fits well with visuals of sweaty men doing sweaty things together. The Veer Union’s greatest success to date has come from licensing its burly 2009 single “Seasons” to sports telecasts, with Major League Baseball, the NFL, NASCAR, ESPN, the WWE, and the NHL all featuring the song. If you’ve heard “Seasons”, you already know what to expect from Divide the Blackened Sky, namely meaty postgrunge guitar riffs; soaring, emotive vocals; and angst. Lots of angst. Enough angst to power a Three Days Grace or Finger Eleven record. In fact, if the Veer Union has a potentially fatal flaw, it’s that its musical output is uniformly humourless. But that could be remedied. You need only look at the shellacked shark fin atop Earl’s head to recognize that at least one member of this crew has a sense of humour in him somewhere.