Short but Sweet and Heartbreaking
By Xander Morley | Contributor
In August, the indie-pop artist Veronica Lewis dropped her debut album, “Too Late For Tears.” She has only been releasing music on streaming services for the last year but already has a strong fan base and an even stronger sound. Lewis’s album was sent to the office of the Free Press, and I had the pleasure of being the one to review it. Because she sent it to the office, one can assume she is a local artist, and you would be correct. Veronica hails from Boston, Massachusetts, and has been making music for 4 years on her YouTube channel. Her first release on other streaming services wasn’t until this year. She has garnered around 4,300 monthly listeners on Spotify as of writing this. Despite not having anything on streaming before this year, she has quickly garnered a base of committed listeners. Not many artists can gain those kinds of numbers from their first few songs, so that is a good sign for her trajectory as an artist. Now, enough biography, let’s talk music!
Off the bat, Veronica wants us to feel her emotions in the brutal manner she is feeling them. She lost someone she was meant to stand against the world with. She’s losing herself without this person. We, the audience, feel the heartbreak. Her powerful vocals, accompanied by soft instrumentation are a combination the indie scene is not unfamiliar with, but her sound is unique. Veronica was inspired by many indie-pop/indie-rock artists, including, but not limited to, beabadoobee, Phoebe Bridgers, Men I Trust, Clairo, and more. Her love for indie-based genres is as apparent as it can get. Spanning 8 tracks, Veronica has a story to tell with this project. Despite its shorter length in contrast to most albums, Veronica makes up for it with heart-wrenching ballads and a clear desire to break free of this pain she’s been locked behind. 
With this album, Veronica delivered a soul-filled package to the indie-pop world. The most popular tracks on this album are “Too Late For Tears” and “Against The World”. These songs are the standout tracks on the album, so these two being the most popular makes sense. Veronica has stacked up her following post-release of this album, and it’s no wonder. This album has some contenders for any car ride playlist, which will take an artist far these days. The mixing and mastering are clean and refined, the instrumentals feel original, and the vocals sound genuine and unfiltered. The album sounds professional and feels like love and time were put into its creation. Veronica’s audience is indeterminable, statistics-wise, but I know there are many young adults out there who would or already love Veronica’s sound.
The only flaw in this project rollout is that the lyrics don’t have any Genius listings. Genius, for those who don’t know, is a lyrics website and YouTube Channel that allows the artist to make notes and comments on their song lyrics to give fans more insight. It isn’t necessary since no artist should feel inclined to explain their art, but it is a great service that many enjoy tuning into on their site or YouTube Channel. Regardless of this one complaint, I recommend all who read this give her album a listen. It’s short but packs a lot of punch, and it’ll have you hooked from beginning to end.
Veronica Lewis is not currently on tour but is slated to perform at The Middle East in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 30th. You can find her music on all platforms, and find out more about her at her website: veronicalewis.com