Pretty, pretty indie. Soaring electric, epic crests, Thom Yorke esque vocals. (How are these guys from Brooklyn? Did Britain export them?) Melodic, hypnotic, intertwined guitars, lots of lonely nighttime atmosphere. More psych/shoegaze song structure that typically ends with huge swells. I guess this is technically “new prog”, but not so edgy, more ethereal. This is a very quiet record, but intense at times, and not overdone. I like it a lot.

Sounds like: Jimmy Eat World’s slower stuff, but also pretty shoegazey, with inevitable comparisons (deserved or no) to Radiohead, based on voice alone. Quick test: If you like the Doves, you will like USVS.

Guess what, the album we defaced was hand-painted. Ugh.

try: 1
FCC: 3 (asses)

*1. shrill, ringing mountaintop electric. (cliffs of dover? guitar hero? yes!) deep drums, midtempo. great guitar lines, builder wall of sound. awesome.
2. slow, mellow emopop. a little like brick (ben folds), but not really. chimey guitar and quick-tapped hi-hat. nice build to end, complete with bugle guitar. could cut at 5 seconds to end.
3. FCC “asses” midtempo. cool, mellow scattered drums & single-note guitar. nice trilly guitar backdrop. hardens & sharpens midway in.
4. fade in ~8 seconds. very slow. soft, quiet tremolo(ish) guitar & fragile vocals. choral harmonies & organ chords later on. bass/drums/electric in at 3 min for a speed up & change up. kind of worth the wait.