Keeping up appearances can get messy, and Butterfly Vendetta are having some fun with the fallout. In their latest music video,
“Veneers”, the rock band takes on vanity, shifting identities, and the gap between who people are and who they pretend to be. The approach is playful, but the song comes from a more personal place: the hard-earned lessons that can follow a relationship gone wrong.
The idea began with a conversation at one of Bianca Vee and David Dillehunt’s duo gigs. While catching up with Vee, her friend MC introduced her to the phrase “ditching the veneers.” It made Vee laugh, then stayed with her long after the conversation ended. By the time she got home that night, the hook was already taking shape.
From there, Vee drew on her own romantic missteps and the advice she had learned to give herself. That combination gives “Veneers” its central tension: there is humor in recognizing a familiar pattern, even when the experience behind it was painful. The song leaves room for both the sting of hindsight and the relief of finally seeing someone clearly.
The video carries that idea into an afternoon shoot at a friend’s home, where a pool and scenic surroundings provided the setting. Each band member portrays different aspects of the song’s theme, exploring false appearances, unfaithful partners, and unchecked vanity. The whimsical imagery gives the band room to lean into the absurdity of those behaviors while keeping the song’s message close to the surface.
Behind the scenes, “Veneers” developed through the same hands-on collaboration that drives Butterfly Vendetta. An initial phone video recording became the starting point, with Dillehunt adding his part through split-screen to create a basic rhythm and lead guitar guide. The full band then worked through ideas in their practice space, allowing the finished track to develop organically through rehearsal and experimentation.
That process draws on a creative partnership nearly two decades in the making. Dual lead vocalists and guitarists Vee and Dillehunt are joined by bassist Remy Renegade and drummer John Allietta. Together, they bring alternative rock, pop-punk, and indie-rock influences into a sound Dillehunt describes as the meeting points of Foo Fighters, Paramore, and Alkaline Trio.
The band’s broader catalog includes their seventh album, Adjectives & Expletives, featuring tracks such as “U’ve Been Served,” “Little Bit Wrong,” “Ready to Roll,” and “Sola Yo.” With “Veneers,” the focus turns to a story that gives their DIY approach a distinctly personal face. A passing remark between friends becomes a hook, a shared rehearsal becomes a finished song, and an afternoon together becomes a video about the masks people wear.
Watch “Veneers” on
YouTube, and explore Butterfly Vendetta’s music on
Spotify,
Amazon Music, and
Bandcamp. Follow the band on
Instagram,
Facebook, and their
YouTube channel, or visit their
official website for more.
