[Thema]

Great things happen when Oskar Offermann and his mate Edward get into the studio. Maybe even better things than when each partner works alone. It’s hard to pinpoint why: there’s no obvious division of labor audible in their collaborations, nor some wildly different sound they can only reach by putting their heads together. And yet, together their dulcet strains of house just seem that much more effective. Verses is just the second time the German duo have shared credits on a record, the first being 2011’s You Said Party, I Said Maybe. Like that record, Verses peddles a carefully measured mixture of rigid sounds with soft, gorgeous ones. In other words, it’s music that strikes at the heart and the feet simultaneously.

In this sense, the record’s brightest star is “Paranoid,” in which a stunning organ sequence and helicoptering hi-hats combine for a highly rhythmic sense of elation. Just try to stop your heart leaping when those jaunty keys enter. “What Have We Become” and “Sunrise” take a more sinister tack, but serve it up at varying levels of intensity. The former cruises fast and low as an approaching stealth bomber, vivid bass tones ducking steadily in and out of the mix. The mood is one of expectation — a big crescendo, or some deadlier percussion, perhaps. So when a murky monologue and slow-fading chords enter, it can come as a surprise. “Sunrise,” on the other hand, presents its muscular hook from the very first bar, walloping listeners over the head with it for seven straight minutes. There are no surprises here — just some filtering and slight key changes — but its brutal immediacy is undeniable. By comparison, the dub version feels somewhat inconsequential, though good DJs will undoubtedly find the right context for it. It’s a small dip on a record otherwise blessed by shockingly good highs.