Seattle-based band Versing have a knack for creating music that sounds nonchalant, yet crafted with a meticulous eye for detail. Their new album, 10000, is a great example of how the band situate elements of distortion and guitar feedback to create captivating pieces of noise and fuzz.
Helmed by songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Daniel Salas, songs are tinged with bits of irony, as Salas whips allegorical witticisms throughout songs in a Malkmus-esque manner. Versing inevitably draw on sounds of the past, evoking bands like Pavement, Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine.
Songs like "Tethered" channel Daydream Nation vibes; with the feedback and dissonant guitar carefully worked in, Salas's vocals are plain yet captivating, like spoken word bound by melody. And while the songs that heavily feature elements of distortion and feedback are good, the songs on 10000 that focus more on rhythm and dynamics ("By Design" and "Violeta," for example) are not only more distinct, but noticeably more textured as well, using feedback as another layer to the mix, instead of as a main fixture.
Regardless, Versing have an aptitude for taking the familiar sounds of earlier genres and developing them into something fresh. 10000 is bold and jarring when it needs to be, filling space with ubiquitous noise and melody.
(Hardly Art)Helmed by songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Daniel Salas, songs are tinged with bits of irony, as Salas whips allegorical witticisms throughout songs in a Malkmus-esque manner. Versing inevitably draw on sounds of the past, evoking bands like Pavement, Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine.
Songs like "Tethered" channel Daydream Nation vibes; with the feedback and dissonant guitar carefully worked in, Salas's vocals are plain yet captivating, like spoken word bound by melody. And while the songs that heavily feature elements of distortion and feedback are good, the songs on 10000 that focus more on rhythm and dynamics ("By Design" and "Violeta," for example) are not only more distinct, but noticeably more textured as well, using feedback as another layer to the mix, instead of as a main fixture.
Regardless, Versing have an aptitude for taking the familiar sounds of earlier genres and developing them into something fresh. 10000 is bold and jarring when it needs to be, filling space with ubiquitous noise and melody.