Uzi and Ari
It is Freezing Out
[ Crying Girl Records ] 2006

Utah's Uzi and Ari have turned out an excellent sophomore effort with the delicate, dream-like It is Freezing Out. Much like their 2005 debut, the post-rock-ish Don't Leave in Such a Hurry, It is Freezing Out features an array of creeping melodies, translucent blips and bleeps and precise arrangements. Uzi and Ari sport their influences pretty clearly, yet boast the musicianship, songs and care to artfully balance their Radiohead leanings and their Three Mile Pilot leanings without falling into pastiche or hero worship.

After the brief, hushed title track opens with piano, voice and lots of ambient noises, "Don't Black Out" takes over with taut musings fit for brokenhearted robots and a hypnotic rhythm to reward even the most casual listener. Leader Ben Shepard's emotive, surprisingly nuanced vocals, while generally understated, really hold the album together and gather focus like some sort of foreign, icy soul singer. Within the first few songs his voice quietly assumes control of the army of instruments, samples and aural sparks that form in each song. The lengthy, enthralling "Trainwreck" pulls out gobs of musical stops - sweeping crescendos, layers of counter melodies, and all manners of tinkling sounds - to deliver what amounts to a great mini-epic which bravely holds full attention beyond the seven minute mark. "Asleep in Armor" sees the brief emergence of female vocals from bassist Catherine Worsham before winding the band into a cathartic frenzy of distorted guitars and thumping drums. "Soggy Snow Shoes (On the Front Porch)" is pretty sparse, almost acoustic spare some delay-drenched guitar parts and subtle samples while "Tiny House" brings back the boy/girl vocals atop a droney stomp and layers of distant, craggly sounds. “Mountain/Molehill" is a surprisingly energetic electro-pop affair that is quickly quelled by the appropriately titled "Drowsy, Drowsy" which cycles through a number of sonic underpinnings (Rhodes, acoustic guitar, drum machine, trancey samples galore) without ever jolting the listener. Closer "Estella" crawls to a start with guitar, Worsham's vocals, and before a fat, warm synth tone sways through the chord changes and drifts to the end of the CD.

It is Freezing Out is a rich, dense album filled with tiny, quiet moments worthy of careful attention and full engagement. Uzi and Ari are definitely worth seeking out, especially for those of us weary from the over-nurtured posturing of the self-satisfied art pop that clogs up our "Blogosphere".

Rooney :: [July 2006]