Review: Versing Return To The Retro Well on “Tape II”

Versing are unabashedly, gleefully retro. They thrive in a very specific time period, the comfy crossroads between noise and melody that’s natively East Coast, presented in a West Coast setting. That’s been the case since the delightful art-damaged beats of their first release seven and a half years ago, when Daniel Salas first announced himself as a fitting sequel to Thurston Moore; nothing about that is gonna change, and it shouldn’t, because they’re really good at what they do.

The first Tape came out in February of 2017, and its brief runtime continued to paint the group as cloudy day stoners with Jaguars spooling together threads of serrated pop like if the Fates had a fourth person. Tape II, eerily, feels like a look back to the 90s in one eye and a look back to Tape in the other. It’s interesting to look back to its older sibling and compare what changed and what hasn’t - to these ears, this collection of five songs sands down the razor edge, ups the accessibility factor, and retains the charm of their off-kilter pop structures.

It’s also produced by longtime engineer Dylan Wall, and his work here gloriously captures the band’s edifying charm. You gotta hit the sweet spot to successfully ape MBV, and they do it right on “Diamond Light” right before launching into a double-time bop. “Distractions” takes the Swirlies and feeds it back through an amp with higher voltage; pristine pop confection “Nowhere” is like listening to The Sundays while eating a sundae. EPs are great because you can package a bunch of bangers together without a weak link, and that’s the case here. It’s Versing returning to form, reminding us of how far they’ve come and how much they’re still ready to give.