Rising from the wistful sound of Everything But The Girl to the angular momentum of The Strokes, Vona Vella’s second album Carnival feels like a band stepping fully into colour. If their 2023 self-titled debut – released on Strap Originals, the imprint founded by Pete Doherty – planted the seeds of their silky indie-pop, then Carnival is the moment those seeds burst skyward.
What began as the deliciously blended harmonies of Izzy Davis and Dan Cunningham has evolved into something bolder and more dynamic. Now a five-piece, with drummer Jake Bott, bassist Claud J Melton, and guitarist Dexter Howell completing the picture, Vona Vella sound less like a duo with backing musicians and more like a coherent unit. There’s more muscle behind the dreamy indie sound.
Title track Carnival sets the tone for the album. Bright, light but insistent and urgent beneath the surface. It’s the contradiction between the spinning, out of control feeling of Cunningham’s chorus, juxtaposed with Davis’ verses, trying to ground him, and bring him back into focus.
Over and Over was the lead single, again with a dreamy but deliberate pulse. Producer Jason Stafford leans into atmosphere without sacrificing the band’s edge and freshness, resisting the temptation to turn it into a standard indie anthem. Instead, it unfolds patiently, wrapping the listener in melancholy. Lyrically, it captures that disorienting threshold between adolescence and adulthood, the discarding of rose-tinted glasses, the dawning realisation that not everyone moves through the world with your best interests at heart. It’s darker subject matter than their debut, but it suits them.
You Can Be So Ugly, the album’s fourth single, sharpens that emotional storyline. Punchy drums crack open the song; thick bass and jagged guitar chords anchor its glossy pop sheen. Yet beneath the immediacy lies something more nuanced: an acceptance of imperfection. Davis’ tender vocal glides against Cunningham’s deeper, grainier tones, their back and forth giving the song its emotional power. It’s not a break-up anthem, nor a love song. Instead, it’s about choosing to stay. About acknowledging that even the people you adore can be infuriating, flawed, human.
At the end of the first side, there’s a nice little treat in the shape of Exit Plan, a chance for a more gentle piece featuring Izzy on the vocal. Melancholic in its lyrics, it’s a sweet little tune that floats us into the second half of the album.
Brand New Boy, jangly and introspective, riffs on the idea of someone being too good to be true. It brings hesitance, waiting for that moment where it collapses away, a self-fulfilled prophecy perhaps.
The closer of the album is a funky, catchy riff feeling optimistic, in spite of some heavy lyrics. Bottled is a strong finish, a song that ends the album on a sonic high, carrying us home on a positive wave of energy.
There’s a real development in their sound. Yes, there’s the influences of the bands mentioned at the top, but they’re right up to date too. Think the melancholic harmonies of Divorce, or the indie class of The Lathums. There’s a bit of everything in here, and they’re mastering a lot of it in their current sound.
Carnival suggests a band not just growing, but crystalising in the best possible way. The sweetness remains, those airy, interwoven melodies still drifting in on the breeze. But there’s a newfound propulsion in the foundations. Vona Vella may take their name from flowers, but on this evidence, they’re no delicate bouquet. They’re in full bloom, reaching higher than ever.
