As much as I enjoyed and appreciated
Versus' compilation of early singles & odds and ends,
Dead Leaves, right from the get go it felt conspicuously incomplete. Despite it's 1995 release date, it managed to omit two Versus singles that more or less coincided with the era it was covering. And quality singles at that, aesthetically slotting in with the material not only on their early 45s, but their then-recent debut LP,
The Stars Are Insane. But as these things go, I really don't have a whit of control over such matters...though this is my meager attempt at an addendum.
Perhaps "Frog" isn't their most effective piece, yet it bears the dynamic, yet tentative lilt of the Baluyut brothers and Fontaine Toup's nascent work, which means it's loaded for bear in the charm department. "Go Tell it on the Mountain" and "Big Head On" exude the consoling mid-fi affectations of virtually everything that made the cut on Dead Leaves, but these numbers (esp "Big Head...") are particularly amped-out, to borderline intense and intimidating proportions. As for the only tune I have yet called out. "N.I.T.A." mines a slightly less strenuous vein, yet bristles with ample tension and texture. Marvy stuff.
Versus' palette would expand and become more lucid and approachable on subsequent records, beginning with
Secret Swingers in 1996. And while they've never gone so far off the reservation as to piss me off, I can't help but wish they hadn't shed so much of their comparatively downer and insular vibe that's so meta to these songs.
Frog 7" (K, 1994)
A. Frog
B. Go Tell it on the Mountain
Big Head On 7" (Teen Beat, 1995)
A. Big Head On
B. N.I.T.A.
4 comments:
Hi! I'm looking for the album Motive (1995) by the band State of Grace. Can't find anything online but I am extremely curious to hear it. Could you please help me if possible? Thanks
I saw these guys play in late 1997 in New York. Really enjoyed their set. Very promising. These are good singles. I didn't know they were aligned with Kelvin's K records.
It was a one-off IPU 7" on K. They were a Teenbeat band with a couple singles on other labels (and a self-released EP in 1993) until they signed with Caroline and put out two LPs for them, then broke up for a bit and then signed with Merge for a while. Their most recent albums are on Ernest Jenning Recording Company. Still playing shows, still putting out new material (in addition to reunited pre-Versus band Flower and post-Versus band +/- (Plus/Minus). Lots of great material to mine. Other now-defunct side projects include The Fontaine Toups, Whyshall Lane and The Pacific Ocean.
I caught Plus Minus in Tokyo around 2006 for the lets build a fire tour. Really enjoyed them especially when they stay on the band side of the equation. Not so much with the blips and blops electronic detail to the front.
I like the idea of bands getting around the labels a bit. accessing different audiences.
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