“Roll the dice on my life, I feel worthless.“
After being delayed from its initial November 19th release to January 21st, New York post-hardcore quartet VRSTY finally return with their debut full-length Welcome Home, seamlessly fusing R&B vocals with the heavy groove of metallic guitars as they have done over the last six years. Other offerings from the genre, such as Issues’ Beautiful Oblivions, have tested the waters in the past, but VRSTY have jumped into the deep end, taking the dance-inducing bass lines and pop synths one step further. The result is an effort which simultaneously manages to be both hookier and heavier than ever before, with a swagger that immediately makes it infectious.
I’ve enjoyed my fair share of R&B-infused post-hardcore in the past, but I’ve also tended to (perhaps unfairly) dismiss it as simplistic. Welcome Home has absolutely changed my mind. Able to find a common textural and thematic middle-ground between the two genres, with electronics that are layered in superbly, the record has clearly been passed through many scrupulous hands, worked and reworked to sound exactly how the band intended.
The album kicks off with the energetic single “Finesse”, exploding from its moody intro with a scream. Despite enjoying Notions, I did not like the incorporated rap metal verse, which felt too abrupt and conspicuous. Cleans flip between the melodies of Jonny Craig and Tyler Carter as well as Varela‘s own distinctive tone, a testament to his range and careful handling of melodies. In the bridge, Varela struts with the lines ‘Well I’ve been dripping with finesse, bitch I’m nothing like the rest. If you want to you can test me, but I move just like a chess piece,’ a first taste of the record’s lyrical braggadocio.
The dense and textured “Soul” follows, beginning as much more of a pop-infused ballad before building in multiple ways. A number of dizzying tempo changes and groovy breakdowns drive the song forward, and in this fluidity they manage to isolate the finer elements of each respective inspiration and blend them into a cohesive, tasteful, and truly creative track. I did not gel well with the third track, “Closer”, which became a belated single following the album’s delay. That said, the low-tuned guitars and the panning reverberation in the ambient dropout before chorus’ second iteration make me revisit this track. For a band so intent on—and capable of—mixing genres, that I primarily enjoy the song due to its relative heaviness is a slight knock within the context of a more complex record.
“Sick”, the last song to be written for the album and yet lead single (as was the case with “Shameless” on their 2020 EP Cloud City), was one of the bounciest tracks of 2021, with an absolutely crushing intro riff. Pull the pin just to hear it click is a stunning pre-breakdown callout, and will undoubtedly be a fan favourite for live performances.
After this, the last ten tracks are all new material. “Paranoid” centres around a super catchy chorus reminiscent of I Prevail, with a dynamic contrast between its headbang-inducing rhythm and the airy electronic balladry of the verses. The sudden groove and djent of the bridge took the song in a very interesting direction, transforming it from largely bombastic to a track which will be stuck in your head and have you strutting about the room. Likewise, “Never Again”, a ‘love letter’ to Varela’s past self written in conjunction with Wage War guitarist Cody Quistad, excels in its funky vocal cadence. Whilst perhaps a little repetitive, the delivery of the lines is ridiculously satisfying.
Sporting acoustic guitar, cloud rap drum samples, reverbed vocals, and the most prominent use of synths, titular track “Welcome Home” is the clear oddball on the record. There is a lot going on with this song, and it takes a while to digest, but it is a fun and successful experiment towards the R&B style. “Hush” continues this with its consistent rhythm that really doesn’t let you catch breath. Few songs can feature the word debonair and have it look not an ounce out of place. Though the ambient outro is pretty, I unfortunately did not think the song satisfied its build-up—though it’s reductive to say ‘a breakdown would’ve improved the song’, one did feel warranted.
The record takes a sharp turn towards the end, with “11am” and the outro to “Only Sad” being the softest moments on the album. The lyrics of both—as well as “Gravity” immediately prior—are vulnerable and emotive, a sharp and welcome departure from the catchy-yet-shallow choruses that drive other tracks. Backed by beautiful, ever-present keys, the layering of male and female harmonies on “11am” in the same way as “Wilt” on previous release Cloud City is a beautiful note. It’s an aching ballad that speaks to love and heartbreak and vulnerability. Despite its sonic deviation, the way that Welcome Home winds down prior to this track really sells it as part of the album, and I can think of no better way to round out it out.
Compared to their previous efforts, the instrumentation has improved drastically, no longer simply contextualising the mood of the songs and facilitating Joey Varela’s soulful vocals but really stamping their mark on certain tracks. This isn’t to say the vocals do not continue to be the focus; they remain centre stage and are the initial draw for new listeners. Varela clearly poured his heart into the record, and the lyrics are subsequently more consistent than those on previous works, though still verging on flippant.
‘She starts feeling brand new, Versace dress, Gucci shoes. Blowing dreams up and I was like, everything will be just fine. Fake it ‘til you make it right?’ In isolation, I found these lines to be remarkably gauche, but they excel in their ironic context: “Only Sad” is a song about the negative impacts of materialism and fame, in stark juxtaposition to Issues’ “Flexin’”, which always struck me as tasteless. The frankly gorgeous falsetto refrain drives this point home, repeating with all the gloss stripped away. “11am” closes the album on a very honest and melancholic note, which made me reflect on the album and truly appreciate it; it is playful, but also isn’t afraid to be vulnerable and delve into deeper topics, resulting in a well-rounded album that is more than the sum of its parts.
Welcome Home’s production lends it a coherent sound, whilst remaining much more instrumentally varied than I anticipated. Sometimes the band strayed too close to the R&B side for my liking, but that is a delicate and subjective balance, and they do a fantastic job of not only appealing to either crowd but also making the fusion feel like a natural progression of both genres. As Joey Varela puts it, “It doesn’t matter what genre it is or where it’s coming from … good music is good music.” For the most part, they have successfully walked the tightrope from which many of their predecessors have fallen.
Welcome Home will be released January 21st via Spinefarm Records, and you can pre-order it here.
7/10