+/- - Holding Patterns EP
(Teenbeat)
+/-'s followup EP to their self-titled debut starts off with James Baluyut's best song yet, "I've Been Lost." Starting with a jitter of drum machines, James sounds shakey and unsure. From the nervous stutter bursts fits of rage using loud, hard guitars and loud, pounding drums. The song works so well because the music conveys James' emotion, isolation, and rage just as well as his words do, but also it's a great direction for James as it has nothing to do, sonically, with his big brother's band Versus. Following this song, however, we get four Versus songs. "Trapped Under Ice Floes" is a great old Versus song—no "Thera" but pretty good. However, no matter how good these Versus songs are, I really want James to sound like James (whatever that means), not like Versus. The melody and songwriting ability that seem to be in the Baluyut blood continues to impress me. Combined with James' inconsolable outlook on life, it makes +/- something like a more melodic Xiu Xiu. However, that comparison will only be apt when the band breaks free of its origins and every song is as adventurous as "I've Been Lost."
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