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Infatuation, Love, and All That Follows

These United States 300
Shervin Lainez

These United States' "First Sight" looks beyond the initial rush that accompanies new love.

Tuesday's Pick

  • Song: "First Sight"
  • Artist: These United States
  • CD: A Picture of the Three of Us at the Garden of Eden
  • Genre: Indie-Pop

March 11, 2008 - These United States' "First Sight" begins unassumingly, with a minimalist approach that offers few hints of the verbal flood to follow: a bevy of images, all delivered with the same gentle intensity. These small melodic bits pull and push the listener's attention, moving continuously under layered melodies and a wash of words.

A story floats on top of them, never devolving into narration but immediately standing out with surprising turns of phrase: "With her mouth making movements to introduce thoughts, I sat. Deafened by trust on the sofa across, quietly calculating the logistics of lust — of when unspoken things could then happen between us."

The melody continues to move, neither sitting stagnantly in the background nor overwhelming the riptides of ideas. It's easy, then, to follow the song's progression of instant passion to love, all the way to the point where "generations would follow the course that we'd charted. From that sofa across, I couldn't wait to get started."

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    • CD: Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden
    • Artist: These United States
    • Label: United Interests
    • Released: 2008
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