VERA ELLEN

Named Best Alternative Artist at the 2022 Aotearoa Music Awards, Wellington based Vera Ellen is a rising star in Aotearoa's indie-rockscape, releasing her second album with Flying Nun Records, Ideal Home Noise, in March 2023 to wide critical acclaim. 

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. With two "voices” battling throughout the album, the instrumentation is sometimes light — featuring synths and electronic drums — and sometimes heavy — with ballad-like piano and raw vocals.

Vera is an expert when it comes to concise songwriting; every note and beat is exactly the required dose. Her albums are full of hooked-to-the-brim melodies, and guided by Vera’s clear, confident, and relaxed vocal presence.  

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.

Internationally, Vera’s music has reached as far as Australia, France, USA and the UK, with a write-up in France’s national newspaper Le Monde, a feature in Loud & Quiet Magazine (UK), Ideal Home Noise was also named #3 in Rolling Stone’s “Top NZ albums of 2023”. 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.

As well as many shows around her home country of New Zealand, including the 2025 Laneway Festival, Vera has also toured with her band around the world; a 14-date exploratory tour of China, a sold out run of shows in Australia in support of Crowded House, and visits to New Colossus Festival and SXSW (both Austin and Sydney editions).

“Arising New Zealand empress Vera Ellen and band were a revelation, a shimmering reminder that pop’n’roll can still nudge one’s soul.“ - The Guardian

Bookings: Reuben@banishedmusic.com