Issued as a stopgap between full-length releases, the beautifully packaged five-song EP
Deep Red typifies Versus at their most tedious and uninspired. From "Dead City" (a dull rewrite of the brilliant "Let's Electrify!") to the lackluster noise blast "Linus" and the overwrought title cut,
Deep Red is lifeless and muddy; still, as a test drive with just-added second guitarist James Baluyut, the record serves its purpose, getting the kinks out of the group's new, more complex sound in advance of the stellar Secret Swingers. ~ Jason Ankeny