Band of the Week: Uzi & Ari

[January 21-27]
Uzi & Ari
Sounds Like: Experimental/Electronic
Drinking Buddies: The Album Leaf, The Postal Service, All About Max
Synopsis: A fused blend of experiments.
Makes You Want To...: View modern art; Read fiction
[Myspace]
[Website]




One week, one band. You know the drill.
This week, the featured artist is Uzi & Ari.


Geez! It's freakin' cold. If you're in the United States, and you've forgotten that it's winter, well something is seriously wrong with you. The wind chill in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX today was 20 degrees! And believe me, it was blowing. The weather has also been moody - a dreary gray of rain and chill sulking over everything.

The music I listen to any given day is directly affected by my mood, and of course, mood is affected by everything, including the weather. The first thing that caught my ears on this rainy day was Uzi & Ari.

Uzi & Ari hails from Salt Lake City, Utah, and plays a strange, blended, eccentric electronic music reminiscent of the way The Postal Service composed their songs. Borderline post-rock, with songs similar to Mogwai, Uzi & Ari adds introspective lyrics to their tricky, fickle songs to make an abstract whole of texture and sound. These folks make some great thinking music, as well as keeping their sound fresh and uninhibited.

To be frank, I picked up on Uzi & Ari in a completely non-musical way. It just so happens that their last album, It is Freezing Out, happens to feature the artwork of my favourite artist, Thrush Holmes. But let's focus here: Uzi & Ari also have a few previous recordings, namely their debut album, Don't Leave in Such a Hurry. You can order both of their albums on their website.

If you couldn't guess, Uzi & Ari also has a Myspace, where you can download some of their other works in mp3 format, if that's your persuasion. They have their song "Mountains/Molehills" up for free download on their Myspace as well. And finally, on the off chance someone out there in the interweb is reading from Japan, you can catch Uzi & Ari's music video for "Asleep in Armor" in regular play on MTV. I leave you all with this video; everyone have a very good week!