Aotearoa Music Award winning and Taite Award nominated artist Vera Ellen was born and raised in Naenae in Te Whanganui-A-Tara/Wellington. Vera relocated to Los Angeles, where she started the band Girl Friday, whose music debuted on indie giant Sub Pop’s sub-label, Hardly Art. In early 2020, Vera moved back to Aotearoa during the pandemic, leading to her finishing her solo album, It’s Your Birthday — released on Flying Nun Records in October 2021.
The much anticipated 2023 follow-up album, Ideal Home Noise is a record unearthed from much introspection and an attempt to find some comedy and lightness in an otherwise dark period for Vera Ellen. Vera’s momentum is unstoppable with her new 13 track album raring to reach all corners of the world. “If It’s Your Birthday was about relationships and love and strife between myself and others; then Ideal Home Noise is about love and strife between myself and myself.“.
Vera has had multiple tracks featured in the NZ Official Alt Charts, with her single ‘Carpenter’ spending 4 weeks in the charts, peaking at #1 and 2022’s standalone single ‘Homewrecker’, spending 14 weeks in the charts, peaking at #8. Upon release, 2023’s Ideal Home Noise reached #7 on the Official NZ Top 20 Album Charts. With both a feature article and review in New Zealand national newspaper, The Herald (VIVA), and an in depth interview and album feature from award-winning journalist Tony Stamp for Radio New Zealand, the good word has spread far and wide with Vera’s latest piece of work. Ideal Home Noise was also named #3 in Rolling Stone’s “Top NZ albums of 2023”.
Internationally, Vera’s music has reached as far as Australia, France and the UK, with a write-up in France’s national newspaper Le Monde, a feature in Loud & Quiet Magazine (UK), a feature article in Rolling Stone (Australia) magazine and a glowing review of her latest album in BEAT Magazine calling it a “richly rewarding listening experience…” and stating that “this record should put Vera on the map”. Vera’s latest singles ‘Lenny Says’ and ‘Broadway Junction’ were added to playlists on Edge (Tasmania), and RTR (Perth), as well as both tracks being added to high rotation Sweet Sixteen Playlist plus an on-air interview on SYN (Melbourne) in early April. In the USA, Vera’s 2023 album charted #55 on the NACC Radio 200 Chart, and scored Top 30 Support from nearly 30 stations & picked support from 26 other stations. Having also played SXSW Sydney and a handful of shows in Melbourne, Vera and her band are well on their way to touring internationally.
When she is home in New Zealand, Vera makes maximum use of her time — opening for the likes of Marlon Williams, Cate Le Bon, Fazerdaze and joining the lineup for three sold out shows with indie darlings, The Beths. With a New Zealand album release tour underway, an Australian jaunt including performing SXSW Sydney, Vera Ellen and her band are ready to take the international stage.
Photo Credit: Izzie Austin
