In the ’90s, most indie rockers were white males who cultivated a cool, detached image. New York-based Versus stood out from its contemporaries for many reasons. Its lineup included two (and sometimes three) Filipino-American brothers, it had a female bassist/singer, and the band gleefully professed its love for sports, meat and classic rock. After several albums and lineup changes continuing through 2001, the group went on a recording hiatus, only occasionally performing live. However, a reinvigorated Versus returned two years ago, and the band has just released On The Ones And Threes (Merge), its first full-length in a decade. Now consisting of singer/guitarist Richard Baluyut, drummer Edward Baluyut, bassist/singer Fontaine Toups, plus live violinist/keyboardist Margaret White, Versus picks up where it left off sonically: hypnotic melodies, male/female vocals and the occasional heavy guitar squall. The band members will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with them.
Fontaine: Forget about TV series that try to manipulate you, frustrate you, annoy the crap out of you and leave you feeling completely lost. Battlestar Galactica will not disappoint. Science fiction at its best is what I think. A human civilization traveling through space looking for Earth after their 12 colonies, or planets, have been devastated by the Cylons (a cybernetic life form). They are being hounded by the Cylons in space and seem on the verge of extinction, but they somehow always seem to get away. Edward James Olmos is the star, and he rocks.
Video after the jump.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvYVR6XXsHA
