Liam Gallagher, in his sublime way, would probably call Versus "a bunch of fookin' stoodents." Despite their attempts at sullen, sexy rockstardom, they're still a bunch of dorky kids who can't escape the allure of a well-written, jangly guitar riff. Which is not necessarily a bad thing; after all, what's more sexy than being able to write a catchy pop song? Versus may have overplayed the whole sexy angle on their last album Secret Swingers, for while it contained some incredible songs, its smoldering teenage melodrama often seemed forced and overbearing. With Two Cents Plus Tax, Versus kicks back and lets their sharp songwriting sense guide the way. The resulting album seems a little light, but it's easily their poppiest and most accessible to date.

The bedrock of Versus' sound is Sonic Youth stripped of its trashy excess and noise, leaving a clean, bare-bones guitar chime, with Richard's and Fontaine's vocals intertwining like a latter-day Sonny and Cher. On Two Cents Plus Tax, that chime is still prevalent, although there are a few new sonic tricks in Versus' bag, like the divebombing riffs of "Atomic Kid" and "Underground" and the glittery backward synth floating through "Radar Follows You." It's also pretty obvious that Versus have been listening to Pavement; more than once, Richard corralls his petulant voice into a decent Steve Malkmus impression, and "Spastic Reaction" is a country jangle once removed from "Range Life." But Versus' finest moments come in familiar territory: "Morning Glory"'s windstorm guitars dissolve beautifully into soft, sweet interludes like the eye of a hurricane, and "Crazy Maker" and "Radar Follows You" are heavenly ballads that might outshine even the best of their older stuff.

Sad to say, but Two Cents Plus Tax invariably runs out of steam at the end: the new-wave jerkiness of "Jack and Jill" doesn't jibe with the smooveness of the rest of the album, and the dirgey, fuzzy "Mouth Of Heaven" is a bit of an anticlimax. But the eight tracks that precede them are bona fide treasures. Two Cents Plus Tax shows that Versus keeps getting better and better. You might not hear a purer, more heartfelt pop album this year... unless they release another one, that is.

-Nick Mirov