Pandora Curators’ Choice: November 2017
“Verst
David Slain (Cream Cloud)
If 1990s indie rock is now considered classic rock, Verst’s second album, David Slain, is an instant classic. That’s not to say these are retro recordings — sure, there are hints of Pavement’s penchant for six-string entanglements, but David Slain decidedly dodges slacker musicianship. And yes, frontman John Dickey’s voice sometimes sounds like an intersection of Thurston Moore’s lackadaisical timbre and J. Mascis’s reedy croon, but Dickey has been singing this way since the ’90s with Pie and Richard Bitch. David Slain may be ’90s informed, but it’s not a ’90s retrospective. No disrespect to Sebadoh, but Lou Barlow could never write a song as catchy as “Haleakala.” And while Pixies are godhead, their guitars never sounded as cacophonously gorgeous as those laid to waste on the eight-minute space rock epic “Secret Sea.”
If you like: Sonic Youth, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Parquet Courts, Hawkwind, Lilys, Further, Surfer Blood
Eric Shea, Pandora
The Big Takeover, Issue #78: Review of Starship Crash
“Verst
Starship Crash (Cream Cloud)
On its debut, this quartet of San Francisco music-scene vets consists of guitarist John Dickey (Pie, Richard Bitch), bassist John Parsons (Rule of Thumb), drummer Brandon Hemley (also Rule of Thumb), and Mark Marvelous (keyboards and guitar), with everybody vocalizing. This is guitar-driven rock that also overflows with lush vocals, throbbing bass, and psychedelic sonic adventures. As good as their sound is, they also take care to craft catchy, well-structured songs, even on the longest, spaciest piece, the title track. Every single song has effects or timbres that set it apart from the surrounding tracks, and from the competition as well. It’s available on 140-gram colored vinyl and download.”
The Big Takeover
Paul Liberatore’s Lib at Large: Press Play’s 10 best Marin records of 2015
Verst’s debut album, Starship Crash, was selected as one of the 10 best records released in Marin County in 2015. We think Mr. Liberatore has damn fine taste.
Starship Crash: Verst’s Propulsive Debut
“Verst, an explosive new indie rock quartet, blasts onto the Marin music scene with its debut album, Starship Crash, a sweet and sour clash of jangly electric guitars and angelic vocals…Verst’s intriguing space rock is strikingly different from the standard neo hippie stuff that seem to dominate the local jam band milieu.”
Paul Liberatore, Marin Independent Journal
Behold San Francisco’s Best-Kept Indie Rock Secret
“Starship Crash is a noise-pop masterwork that infuses ‘90s sonic wizardry with innovative melodies, both barbed and sublime. Guitar effects whisperer John Dickey croons like Stephen Malkmus channeling Neil Young.”
Eric Shea, Pandora
Alternative Rising Acts: Verst
“Pretty much all critics who have covered Verst agree: they have created an incredible collection of songs in their debut album Starship Crash, where not even one track skips a beat…From start to finish, it’s intelligently crafted with visceral texture perfectly represented in the album artwork. Psychedelic yet lucid, the album and sound aesthetic is so refined and well structured, an impeccable innovative listen for any occasion–a classic depiction of the 2015 indie rock essence.”
Josh Pineda, Indiebeat