One of my favorite albums is File Under Easy Listening by Sugar. In case you don’t remember, Sugar was a Bob Mould (of Husker Du fame) project. At one point in time this CD could be found in every corner bargain bin for next-to-nothing, which I never understood as it is one fabulous listening experience. The razor-sharp yet dense guitar work is nothing short of spectacular. It’s not a sound that pops up often.
If I had to describe the standout feature of F.U.E.L., it would be “texture”. Sharply-honed guitar saturates each song’s palette, but in such a way that the sound is still pleasant. The songs themselves tend towards being catchy, but within the framework of extreme sound spectrum saturation.
Which leads me to my topic…
Versing is a unique Seattle band that in some ways reminds me of Sugar. On their 2019 album 10000, the group drenches my ears ears ears with buzzsaw guitar wrapped in a downy blanket of catchiness. But there are other aspects of the band that make it difficult to describe their sound in any simple way.
Post-punk, which requires a thousand page manifesto to describe, is often angular, rhythmically complex, and to some extent devoid of personal warmth. The term does not describe a specific sound but a huge spectrum of potential sounds. One of my favorite post-punk albums is Vs. by Mission of Burma. Versing uses many of the same tricks as M.O.B.: odd accents that obscure the beat, dense textures alternating with sparse ones (sometimes quite rapidly), unusual melodies that can be an assault on the ears and, at other times, be monotone.
But this is still not a complete picture of Versing. Some tricks from Joy Division/early New Order can also be found in their playbook. Pop harmonies creep in from time to time, as if XTC invaded a Residents’ ditty. Some songs never progress out of their opening salvos. And, perhaps most unusually, song structures seldom go where expected: a guitar solo which differs from the rest of the song turns out to be the end; a song seems too short to end but end it does; another song simply fades into the sunset.
But this still does not describe all the complexities that make up Versing. Take all of the characteristics listed above and shuffle between them. First be poppy and sparse, then dense and angular, add irregular drum accents, now poppy and sparse, guitar solo, we’re done. Truly, I hear this album as a primer in post-punk songwriting. Each gem-of-a-song displays a different set of exciting features.
You can stream this exciting local album through Hoopla! And if you don’t know how to do that, you can find out on our website. Take advantage of our online resources and enjoy some fab music. Guaranteed to be fat-free and tasty.
A Reading Life 