Per the suggestion of a friend of mine who happens to have great musical taste, I picked up These United States' debut album, A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden. I had heard the somewhat dreamy and endlessly pleasant First Sight already, and decided to take the chance. As it turns out, the entire album is about as starkly laid out as its cover art, but beneath the quiet instrumentation and hushed lyrics is a beautifully textured musical landscape that opens up more and more upon each successive listen. The majority of the album is made up of moment-in-time snapshots in musical form, intimate songs that sound almost as if you were listening to them underwater - somewhat hiding the elaborate layers that make up each one. But listen closely and you'll hear a subtle fusion of electronica, acoustic guitar, horns, organ, and more all underneath the reverb-drenched seascape and lyrics they weave so well.
Now I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't fallen asleep to this album a few times, but it certainly wasn't out of boredom! Every song on this record is just so dang pretty, I'm pretty sure it was responsible for any good dreams I may have had after passing out. So do yourself a favor and go pick it up.
1 comment:
Beautifully put! Love these guys.
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