+/-, or Plus/Minus, is an American

indietronic Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band formed in 2001. The band makes use of both electronic and traditional instruments, and has sought to use electronics to recreate traditional indie rock song forms and instrumental structures. The group has released two albums on each of the American indie labels

Teenbeat Records Teen Beat is an American independent record label, originally based in Arlington, Virginia, now based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was founded by Mark Robinson (of Unrest) in 1984 at Wakefield High School, along with Phil Krauth (of Unrest ...

and

Absolutely Kosher Absolutely may refer to: * ''Absolutely'' (Boxer album), the second rock music album recorded by the band Boxer * ''Absolutely'' (Madness album), the 1980 second album from the British ska band Madness * ''Absolutely'' (ABC album), a comprehensi ...

, and their track "All I do" was prominently featured in the soundtrack for the major film Wicker Park. The group has developed a devoted following in Japan and Taiwan,Transform interview with James Baluyut
and has toured there frequently. Although many artists append bonus tracks onto the end of Japanese album releases to discourage purchasers from buying cheaper US import versions, the overseas versions of +/- albums are usually quite different from the US versions - track lists can be rearranged, artwork with noticeable changes is used, and tracks from the US version can be replaced as well as augmented by bonus tracks.

History

owner Mark Robinson had been impressed by a solo track that James Baluyut contributed to a 2000 EP ''Drawn and Quartered'' issued by

Versus Versus (Latin, 'against') may refer to: Film and television * ''Versus'' (2000 film), a Japanese zombie film * ''Versus'' (2016 film), a Russian sports drama film * ''Versus'' (2019 film), a French thriller film * Versus (TV channel), form ...

, an influential indie rock band in which Baluyut played 2nd guitar. Robinson asked Baluyut to record an album's worth of material for release on Teenbeat, which Baluyut did under the name +/-. Although the first +/- album was essentially a Baluyut solo affair, he had formed a touring and recording band in mid-2001 before the album was released, with Versus drummer Patrick Ramos assuming guitar, keyboard and co-lead vocal duties,

Chris Deaner Chris Deaner is an American drummer, film maker and computer programmer. He is best known as the drummer for Plus/Minus from 2001 onwards, as a founding member of Loudest Boom Bah Yea, and as the drummer for Kelly Clarkson from 2007 to 2008. H ...

on drums, and Margaret McCartney (formerly of Tuscadero) on bass. McCartney left in 2002 and the other members did not seek a permanent replacement. Since then the band has usually employed Tony Zanella of

True Love Always True Love Always is an American pop band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1995, with a mission to play only love songs. The band was influenced by João Gilberto, Dionne Warwick, and Earth, Wind & Fire. The band has been associated with ...

as a tour bassist. Deaner was Kelly Clarkson's tour drummer from early 2007 to spring of 2008, during which time Karl Lundin (Deaner's partner in Loudest Boom Bah Yea) stood in for Deaner while he was on tour with Clarkson. The group left Teenbeat in mid-2006 to sign to

, although Teenbeat did issue a long-delayed split EP with Bloodthirsty Butchers and a retrospective DVD of video clips in 2007. Subsequent to signing with Absolutely Kosher the band's recordings received distribution in central Europe through BB*Island, and the band has since toured Germany and its surrounding nations three times. After the release of

Xs on Your Eyes ''Xs on Your Eyes'' is the fourth album by +/-, released in late October 2008. An instrumental version of the song "sweet home Alabama" was used as background music in the menu loop of the band's 2007 '' Self Titled Debut Digital Video Disc'' D ...

in 2008 the group did not tour the US to any great extent, but concentrated their touring efforts on Asia and continental Europe. In late 2009 the band released the Japan-only EP Thrown into the Fire, and also announced that they had provided the soundtrack for the multiplayer online game Code of Everand, which Chris Deaner had worked on as a lead programmer.Credits for Code of Everand

Members

* James Baluyut (vocals, guitar, keyboard, producer) * Patrick Ramos (vocals, guitar, keyboard, drums) *

(drums, sampler, banjo, clarinet, vibraphone, video production)

Albums

* '' Self-Titled Long-Playing Debut Album'' (2002 –

) * '' You Are Here'' (2003 –

/ & Records / WWR Taiwan / BB Island) * ''

Let's Build a Fire ''Let's Build a Fire'' is the third album released by +/-. It was first released in Taiwan by white wabbit records in November 2005 and in Japan by & Records on December 14, 2005. A revised version of the album was released by Absolutely Kosher R ...

'' (2006 –

Absolutely Kosher Records Absolutely Kosher Records is an independent California-based record label founded in 1998 in San Francisco by Cory Brown. The label moved to Berkeley in 2002 and then to Emeryville in October 2006 when it partnered with Misra Records. The two la ...

/ & Records / WWR Taiwan / BB Island) * ''

'' (2008 –

/ & Records / BB Island) * '' Jumping the Tracks'' (2014 Teenbeat – Records / & Records)

Compilations

* ''Pulled Punches'' (2010 –

)

EPs

* ''Holding Patterns'' (2003 –

/ & Records) * ''As Seen on Television'' (2004 – & Records) * ''bloodthirsty butchers vs +/- PLUS/MINUS'' (2005 –

Nippon Columbia , often pronounced ''Korombia'', operating internationally as , is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as Nipponophone Co., Ltd. It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK C ...

) * ''Thrown into the Fire'' (2009 – & Records) * Summer 2019: Extended Play (2019 - Ernest Jennings Record Company)

Videos

* ''Self Titled Debut Digital Video Disc'' (2007 –

)

Soundtrack recordings

* Wicker Park Soundtrack One track, "All I Do" * Code of Everand MMOG Background music.

References

External links

+/-
(official website) * +/-at Allmusic * +/- releases reviewed withi
Versus
article at Trouser Press * +/- write-u
The Precision Of An Approximation @ ClickTheCity.com Music
at

ClickTheCity.com ''ClickTheCity'' is an entertainment and lifestyle guide website in the Philippines. It provides a companion mobile application. ClickTheCity started in 2000 as an online directory of restaurants, shops, TV and movie schedules in Metro Manila ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:+ - (band) Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Video game composers Musical groups established in 2001