+/-

When indie heroes Versus went on hiatus last year, guitarist James Baluyut took center stage and handcrafted one of underground music’s most debated releases, +/-‘s appropriately named Self-Titled Long-Playing Debut. Rather than relying on Versus’ jangling rockboy swagger, Baluyut constructed +/-‘s futuristic folk around his sleepyhead falsetto and animated it with a melange of starkly ambient drum-machine patterns, fluttering acoustic strings and rolling waves of inverted electronica. Critics swooned about the much-needed breath of fresh air the record provided, but longtime Versus fans lambasted Debut as new-age dolled up in the sheep’s clothing of Sea-and-Cake-y alternative. Baluyut went on tour, enlisting a trio of musical pals (including Versus drummer Patrick Ramos and former Tuscadero guitarist Margaret McCartney) to reconfigure his record’s one-man-showmanship. Now a full-time quartet, +/- has jelled into a formidable concert act, albeit one that prefers killing audiences softly rather than pounding them over the head with mawkish pop-rock gestures.