They’ve been around for years, but six releases in Us and US Only have their first full length record Full Flower. I found them in 2011 when Andrew, Jake, and I ran our little music blog. During that time we were falling all over ourselves discovering the Baltimore music scene. We wrote several pieces about it. One of those treasures Us and Us Only had just come out with their Rapture single. Tumblr, of course, spread the art cover rather than music. A common practice then and likely now.
Most of the Baltimore bands were loud, noisy, or ultra heavy but they sounded like Pompeii or The World is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die. It’s the kind of sound I like to fill my apartment living room with. It’s not too loud but has those moments we’re on the edge of being resounding and suddenly we’re going to some far off place at the edge of earth. It’s the same feeling a get when I travel anywhere that’s miles away from my and everyone’s bullshit. US & Us Only sound like sitting on the shinkansen peacefully waiting to get somewhere or looking down at some beautiful overview while drinking a cold one and smoking a cigarette. They’re that hipster band you just kind of fall in love with and keep for your hipster self.
The record flows like two movements. Every song moves into the next smoothly. The transitions aren’t immediately like Mew’s And the Glass Handed Kites but it’s easy to put on track one and realize track six feels like the end of the first song. That’s high complement for a time where most records don’t feel like records. They’re just a bunch of songs along with hopefully a single. Full Flower has at least 3 singles but all the songs work together. It’s one of the few new records I’ve bought on vinyl.
“Kno” and “Bored of Black” hymns themes of fatigue with relationships and consistent mentions of boredom and weariness. They represent the first half of the album well. There’s also a deliberate approach to steadily filling a room with sound. Never too much at once and I never feel like it’s too immediate. When the chorus comes in on “Bored of Black” I’m ready to join in or move my body. “My Mouth” quietly builds up to a teetering point releasing full distortion and restraint. I never feel there’s even a build up or drop with these songs. Every moment sounds natural and instinctive.
“Full Flower” has the same on the cusp of breaking moments too. The post-chorus mesmer makes you fall out, wake up to the reprisal of the chorus, and flawlessly transition into “Lawn” which got by me the first time. “Dresses” relents from caution a third way through. A brief loose semblance. Closing out, “Winter Sails” was the very first single for the band in 2010. It’s stripped down, quiet, and fits as a last call for a magnificent debut.
Disaesthetic 