Versus and Velocity Girl - The Very Best of DC's Pop Scene

By Jason Hunter

Versus

ersus is the first band I became a fan of after joining the college radio station at Virginia Tech, 90.7 WUVT. The album Secret Swingers was released the fall of 1996 and it got a lot of play at the station. It was an amazingly focused, textured pop record, that had a potent mix of male/female harmonies and ambiguous angst. They also had roots in the Washington DC scene and that meant a lot to me at the time. I got that record and played it until it become the sound of my semester. Then I put it down and got their back catalog (The Stars Are Insane, Deep Red, Dead Leaves) just in time for my first trip to New York City. The sounds on those records had a more prevalent DGC-era Sonic Youth vibe which seemed appropriate since SY and NYC were synonymous in my mind. Then in 1998 Versus released "Two Cents + Tax" and it was their creative high watermark. All 10 tracks erased any notion of previous influences - they was their music. Next came the pair of stellar EP's — Afterglow (1999) and Shangri-La (2000). Afterglow has some of the most distinct and dark sounds in their cannon. Shargra-La is one of the best executed gimmicks in indie-rock. It's an EP composed of songs titled Shangri-La (one original, two covers,) and another cover song originally by the all-girl group The Shangri-La's. These two EPs, despite their short length, were always a must-take when making the 4 hour drive between home and college during my last two years at school. Sadly this winning streak couldn't last. 2000's "Hurrah" didn't have that spark and shortly after Versus went on hiatus. Versus on Myspace

Velocity Girl – Copacetic (1993) and !Simpatico! (1994)

When I was mired in punk, metal, and goth, a dear, dear friend took me aside and introduced me to Velocity Girl, who looked to the British shoegaze and C-86 scenes for influence. Lyrically, the subject matter centers around bad friendships but is peppered with an aloof sense of levity. 1993's Copacetic stole all the best British shoegazing tricks and crafted buoyant pop songs about great albums ("Pop Loser"), college towns ("Crazy Town"), and lost friends ("Audrey's Eyes"). The run of "Crazy Town", "Copacetic", "Here Comes", and "Pop Loser" (tracks 2-5) foreshadowed the greatness to come. 1994's !Simpatico! seemed poised to explode and WHFS (prior to their national rise to fame and festivals) did their best to ignite it. Obviously it didn't work out and this remain one of the greatest unsung records in both DCs' musical history and on SubPop's roster. The distortion is dialed back for cleaner, power pop sound that I've always found surprisingly danceable (see "There's Only One Thing Left To Say", "Tripping Wires", "Medio core"). This gives Sara Shannon and Archie Moore a larger stage to trade lines back and forth ("Sorry Again", "The All-Consumer", "I Can't Stop Smiling", "What You Leave Behind"). I love this record. It thing its beyond great — it's a perfect 10. Yes, this adoration may be a product of it's time – the friends, the shows, the feelings of being in on the secret of Velocity Girl – but I do think it's got something for you too enjoy as well.