There’s something unmistakably alive about The Pictures You Paint, the new EP from Melbourne’s rising rock outfit Vermantics.
The EP plays like a snapshot series of human experience: snapshots that flicker between vulnerability, defiance, and redemption. Opener “Come Alive” builds with a dark intensity, while “Fake It” digs into the disconnect between surface image and internal reality. “How Does It Feel” asks quiet, uncomfortable questions, and final track “Open Up Your Dreams” lifts off into something almost euphoric, a fitting close to a collection that begins in shadow and ends in light.
But the real distinction here isn’t just emotional—it’s technical. Where much of today’s rock can sound overly processed or programmed, The Pictures You Paint is refreshingly organic. There’s a sense that these songs were played, not constructed. No quantized drums, no digital gloss. Just four musicians in a room, reacting to each other in real time.
That cohesion comes from deep connection. Brothers Stefan and Daniel Fedele, both veterans of Adelaide’s punk scene, formed the band after relocating to Melbourne. They were joined by guitarist Jack Stevenson, and drummer Julian Perrotta who, in a fortuitous twist, turned out to be their cousin. The result is a lineup that feels less like a band and more like a unit, locked in by blood, instinct, and shared influences.
It’s a step forward for Vermantics, who are coming off a UK tour that saw them sell out shows and turn heads across cities like London and Manchester.
