Labels: Troubleman
Review by: Andy Malcolm
I don’t know very much about either band here. Except they’ve both been around a bit. And that I saw Unwound play a mesmerising set to a slightly tipsy me and 30 or so other people in an upstairs room in a Leicester pub last summer. Hypnotising stuff, and a very vital band.
Versus here play lightly rocking indie pop. If I compare them to, say, Rainer Maria, Sarge and Velocity Girl, I don’t need to make that oh so frustrating point of having to say they have a girl singer. Argh! I mean, in every other review, we never have to say they have boy singers. But anyway. This is ear friendly stuff, but to stop it being commercial they chuck in a strange scratchy / distorted middle section to throw you off. Basically, if you like indie rock you probably already know who Versus are. If you don’t, if you are into any of the bands I already mentioned, plus Superchunk, then this is for you. Very, very nice. I might have to find some more of their stuff. It’s kinda long too. I dig it.
Unwound contribute a track called “Torch Song” which is another long track. Sorta rock’n’rolling indie rock, with lots of their trademark repetetive guitars, and distortion, and very effective vocals. When I saw them live, the guitars were too loud to hear the vocals, so that was a nice addition. Anyways, if you haven’t heard Unwound, get one of the discography things they have floating around right now. They are important. If you have heard them, you’ll probably want to pick this up. Can’t say fairer than that.
This 7″ works great on two levels – an introduction to 2 bands, or a worthwhile record for long term fans. Perfect. No inserts.