"Life During Wartime" (released by Robotic Empire) is the debut EP from Versoma – a new band featuring an impressive lineup whose membership has formerly been active in Anodyne, Turmoil, Lickgoldensky, Hot Cross, and Orchid, among others. The noisily aggressive nature of said groups certainly plays a significant role in this material, but there's a much darker element at work in terms of a cohesive sense of morose melody that manages to create a memorable sense of energy within the compositions. The songwriting really does a great job of blending rather intense, caustic bursts and forceful melodies, not to mention a wide array of musical influences, and I also enjoy the way the recording places the vocals deep in the heart of the mix so that they're sort of fighting their way forward over thick layers of droning effects and gritty textures. It takes a little time to settle in, but I was quite intrigued by the end of the first listen, and even the lyrics really do the trick for me:

There's a loss that I feel when these days grow short I want to feel the iron grip of "alone" I wish I could see the time pass before me I wish I could feel what it means to want like late at night I sink between the hours in an empty room time feels like a weapon sometimes alone is the best that I can do…

Versoma "Come in Alone"

Very nice. I'm looking forward to hearing more from these guys for sure. Pick it up straight from the label if you dig the track:

@ Robotic Empire

In the note accompanying this CD, a member of Unlucky Atlas referred to the quartet as "all older ex-hardcore kids", though you'd never really know it considering the credited instruments herein are mandolin, six and 12-string guitars (most, if not all, of which are acoustic), fiddle, cello, autoharp, and of course vocals. But don't get the wrong idea, this isn't some weak, folked-out hippie bullshit at all, and in fact the combination of brooding melodies and at times subtly socio-political lyrics can be quite moving/powerful. Seven tracks appear in all, several of which are brief instrumental interludes, with three of the four remaining compositions all topping seven minutes without a second thought, flowing through densely layered instrumentation that crosses some pretty involved ground in terms of interaction between differing instruments/melodies, as well as more sparse and stripped down segments – some of which let some exceptionally awesome vocal work shine through. Both male and female vocals are present at various points, and each singer has a great voice, so I think I'd like to hear them harmonize with one another a bit more often and really milk their talents to some degree. It's pretty damn cool when a band can test the waters like this and come up with something of their own that sounds nothing like their influences, thus coming across as creative and original without losing its musicality or intrigue in a murk of experimentation. It seems to be relatively early on in Unlucky Atlas' recorded history as well, so with time I could envision them really nailing the emotional impact of the already curious niche they're exploring.

The new American century waits and weeps to dream, not all a dream, a new frontier. The wrath of the lamb. Our days among the dead have not passed, tenuous and tense. The giant despair. The forward presence. The wrath of the lamb.

Unlucky Atlas "Numbers"

Oh, and it's also worth mentioning, of course, that this professionally pressed CD-R comes in a great looking chipboard digipack printed in green and metallic silver inks, with a color insert for the lyrics and whatnot. Nicely done.

If you're interested, I'd recommend contacting the band directly via their website or MySpace to inquire about getting your hands on some of their material.