First impressions are everything, and a debut single is much alike to a first handshake, you may have seen them around the office already but get that first greeting wrong and it’ll hang on you like damp armpits in a claustrophobic cubicle.
Luckily, VsVs (Versus, Versus) seem to have dodged any awkwardness and have taken the world with a strong, but not-to-tight, grip.
For people who have heard the band before now, ‘November Snow’ may have less synthesisers than some previous demos have you used to but it’s driven by a somewhat disco-esque bass and decorated with piercing guitars that compensate leaving an accessible sound open to a wider audience, not that VsVs don’t already have a passionate following.
Heavy on reverb the track takes on some (almost) Glasvegas characteristics, each note staccato and sharp perfectly in time to delve itself into the melody as vocals become distant at points, fading back just enough to give the band a broad sound that will suit some of the bigger stages but work equally well crammed onto the eating area down your local, though the latter of these might dampen some of the atmosphere of the single.
VsVs are best served on a big stage with as many amps as they like behind them and don’t get stingy on lights and pyrotechnics.
‘November Snow’ is a track that’s found itself in the wrong time zone, sounding much more suited to a summer festival than the lyrical topic might suggest though it is a celebration of time well spent with a nod to a very Scottish climate anomaly of snow at the beginning of November which is fitting as VsVs are very Scottish and they’re definitely time well spent.
Words: Ryan Sharpe
