Band: USVS (Us Versus)
Album: Arc EP

Ethereal, soft-prog with Thom York-ie vocals. This is the second effort from the NY based shoegazers, and a KZSU-indie-brat favorite. This EP sees the band cranking up the withdrawn(reverb turned up too high), off-tune vocals and that rainy-day-melancholy mood, and cuts out a good bit of the buildup and intensity of their past work. Expect intricately woven, introspective guitar dialogues and forlorn melodies.

1> Cheerful but slow and soft with faintly-driving heartbeat bass and a soulful yet ethereal guitar solo. There's a tambourine. This is intensely pop-y, but it in its own way.
2> Contemplative, but with a good indie feel and a strong sense of longing. Not much development.
>>3<< Swirling guitars, intense lyrics and an expansive sound. A hit from their last album and still their best track, though toned down a bit in this release.
4> Rougher around the edges than the rest of the CD. This song requires a bit of patience.
>>5<< A lone piercing guitar, some barely-there backup harmonies, well paced drums. A really triumphant piece of guitar work and some of the most charmingly cried/sung vocals. The fragmented instrumentals that close the song really sell it.