REVIEW: Varsity, BABY! @ Great Scott 05/09

On Wednesday May 9, Chicago-based Varsity played Allston’s Great Scott. The five-piece indie pop-rock group is made up of vocalist Steph Smith, Dylan Weschler on back-up vocals and guitar, guitarist Pat Stanton, Paul Stolz on bass, and Jake Stolz on drums. The group was formed in 2013, with their first single, “Turns Out/Downtown,” out that same year. Recently, they’ve been touring the US following the release of their sophomore album Parallel Person. Varsity’s sound has often been described as a blend of indie pop and surf rock, and their music will entertain your ears with upbeat riffs and eloquent lyrics. For fans of the Walters and Tennis, Varsity will surely be your new favorite band.

Parallel Person is Varsity’s most recent release, having come out at the end of this past April. The album has many songs that capture the band’s classic surf rock-y sound, such as “Settle Down,” “A Friend Named Paul,” and “Lied for You.” However, it also has some deeper, more emotional tracks like “Krissy,” “Watching You,” and “Discipline.” “Must Be Nice” shows a bit of variety on the album, still being upbeat but with slightly darker chords and unique bridges. Overall, the album showcases Smith’s beautiful vocals and the musical dexterity of the whole group. It builds on the strong foundation of their 2015 self-titled album and proves that they’re able to try new tactics while still maintaining their individual sound.   

Opening for the night was local band BABY!, whose sound blended well with Varsity’s. Vocalist and guitarist Kaley Honeycutt expressed her fondness for Varsity before her amazing set. Honeycutt played songs off the album Sunny, F.L., paying homage to her origin state of Florida. With a sound akin to Diet Cig and other rising indie rock artists, BABY! is a Boston group you’ll want to keep your eyes on. 

Varsity kicked off their set with “Alone in My Principles,” the final track off Parallel Person. They continued with two other songs from the new album, “A Friend Named Paul” and “Must Be Nice.” The music video for the latter song was animated by Shane Beam. Smith stated that they gave him a simple story line and told him to run with it, and the music video came out even better than she expected. The video involves swirling images of deer and people in swimsuits, similar to those on the cover of Parallel Person, and has a beautiful color palette.

They followed with their most popular song, “So Sad, So Sad,” which has over five million streams on Spotify. Upon first listen, the song captivates the listener with soothing chords and Smith’s smooth vocals. It builds into a powerful chorus and later swells to an omnipotent crescendo as Smith belts “I could never walk away, walk away / I could never make you stay.” The song is overall impressive and emotional, and the whole group brought those powerful emotions to the stage. However, Varsity had some lighthearted moments on stage as well. Smith introduced “Gordi, You’re a Saint” with a story about the unique way she was paid for dog-sitting, which the song is based on. The band also had a quick aside about clam chowder with the audience, to which Stanton asked the crowd “That’s a thing here, right?”

The group continued with “Krissy,” where Smith delivered another powerful performance and caused the whole room to be still. They finished off with the indie-bops “Still Apart,” “Lied for You,” and “Amanda” from their 2016 singles, Parallel Person, and their first album respectively. “Still Apart” had the whole audience dancing, even if they were just nodding their heads. These feel-good tracks were the perfect way to end the show and left the crowd wanting more.

This was Varsity’s second time playing Great Scott, and they noted their love for the venue as they left the stage and thanked the audience. Hopefully, the band will return to Boston soon because they’re an unforgettable group with great talent.

Varsity’s second album, Parallel Person, is out now on Bandcamp, Spotify, and Apple Music.

-Monica Sucic