Words/Robert Frezza
Indie pop New York City singer, Verite, is ready to show off her New Skin, that is, her new sophomore album, to her devoted audience. Those who don’t know who Verite is, she has the pipes of Adele, and when I met her for this interview, I felt she seemed eager enough to get her new album released.
On the eve of the release of her new album, Kelsey Bryne, aka Verite, let out a few things about the new project, including her involvement and letting others in to work with her. After her debut album, Somewhere In Between, the singer finds herself in a more vulnerable state.  “I feel like it was an experiment to try to push out of the Somewhere in Between era. I think in the beginning it was a lot of throwing things against the wall, trying out new collaborations, trying to find people to write people to write with to expand myself. I think it became an introverted self-exploration of my own mind and my relationships. My approach was different in the sense that I was on the ground level of every song and production. I did way more production on this. I kind of just let me be more vulnerable in my life and upfront with who I am,” states the singer.
Verite mentioned that the meaning behind the album title falls on the cycle of life. “This idea as we are committed to a process, we are constantly going through the ups and downs of that process and hitting the end. I think for me at least each layer represents that new skin that constantly shows growth and showing improvement.”
The singer admitted candidly that she suffers from chronic disassociated depression and while writing and recording this album she found that by talking and having conversations with others about it, the more they resonated with that specific topic and her music. “Sometimes when you talk about mental health it could be taken as a dramatic thing of sorts. In talking to so many people about it, I’d like to address it on a larger platform. One can be depressed and can function at a super high capacity. I was in a really weird middle place while writing and recording this album. I didn’t realize it then, but it was an uncomfortable feeling that I had—I’m on a path and I don’t know where I’m going. Instead of feeling lost, I pushed myself forward.”
Verite also has a Labrinth addiction. She’s been listening to the R&B singer a lot. “I think he’s phenomenal in doing such different exciting things. I kind of go through dry spells when I write records. I think the whole world has been listening to Rosalia as of late and she was definitely on my playlist. I went through a Lori McKenna phase as well because I wrote some of the album in Nashville as well.”
If you listen to Verite, her music is somber to say the least, but many connect with her on an emotional level.  “I think this album was about processing feelings, which I don’t do well. The record was about a relationship or about life in general. I think I’m on that journey.”
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