This is Versailles Unleashes Their Debut

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 18, 2010 6:20PM

Local quartet This is Versailles specializes in a lisghtly unusual blend of raw hard-charging rock taking a few slight cues from alternative nation shoegaze on their eponymous debut. The vocals are urgent and delivered on the cusps of screams mingling between male and female throatsof bassist Caitlin Garibaldi and guitarist Jaisen Ehas. The guitar leads of Neil Yodnane and Ehas are at time roughly scraped out of the guts of their intruments, and at other times they're coaxed out in lines of reverbed adrenaline driven ahead of the force of John Rugger's drumming. As the EP goes on, later songs allow the band to display a bit of their grasp of conventional melody but, honestly, it's when they're reaching into the hailstrom that their sound is best.

We caught the band's show a few months ago and they certainly deliver the energy onstage. Live This is Versailles is loud, slightly messy in that stumbling across the stage while hitting all the right notes sort of way, and slightly menacing. The band celebrates of the release of its debut EP with a free show at The Empty Bottle next Monday, March 22.

This is Versailles plays March 22 at The Empty Bottle, 1035 N Western, 9:30 p.m., FREE, 21+