On the Ones and Threes
Album | Versus
Criminally underrated indie cult heroes return.
Of all the truly great jingly-jangly indie rock bands to come exploding out of the early 1990s, NYC’s Versus remain one of the best and one of the most generally underrated. Even though loud-quiet-loud dynamics and noisy melodicism were the stock in trade of many a '90s band, Versus managed to make that formula uniquely their own. On the Ones and Threes, the band’s first new record in 10 years, finds them doing what they do best. While not exactly breaking any new ground, the delicate interplay of Richard Baluyut and Fontaine Toups's vocals still sounds fantastic, and songs like “Into Blue” and “Invisible Hero” would have been right at home on classic Versus albums like The Stars Are Insane. This album arguably lacks some of the drama and pathos that made older Versus records pack such an emotional punch, but the roaring guitars and melancholy melodies here prove that even indie rockers can age gracefully and still rock out at the same time.
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