NYC Band of the Week: Me You Us Them

Borough: Bushwick, Brooklyn
Fun Fact: Lead singer Ryan Reesey recently starred in a commercial for Guitar Hero.
Why They're Worth Watching: Me You Us Them meld an intense blend of distorted, off-kilter guitar riffs with searing vocal melodies, rendering them one of the most memorable shoe-gaze groups in recent memory.
For Fans Of: Sonic Youth, Jimmy Eat World, The Jesus & Mary Chain

Tucked away in a booth at a Williamsburg watering hole, a few feet away from one of Brooklyn's more rowdy election night Obama victory parties, the members of Me You Us Them consider how the current state of politics have influenced their musical approach. "It's certainly affected us," guitarist/vocalist Ryan Reesey says. "You actually have to get off your ass and do something."

That same do-it-yourself attitude has driven the band to overcome a number of obstacles, most notably the sudden vanishing of their first bassist, Kentaro Takahashi, who just mysteriously "disappeared one day." Undaunted, Reesey and bassist Ian Ljungquist cut their debut EP as a two-piece with close friend and producer Ryan Steele at his make-shift Brooklyn studio. Their inaugural EP, matter-of-factly titled EP 1, includes standouts like the dynamic and snarky "I'll Pick Up Your Problems at the Baggage Claim" and closing track "Me You Us Them," which combines fuzzy riffs with an up-tempo drum beat and computer-generated synths to create dreamy layers of melodic dissonance.

Though rooted in shoe-gazing tradition, the band's sound is developing even today: The original duo replaced their drum machine with an actual human, NYU student James "Jimi" Jano, about five months ago. Ljungquist says that the addition has led them to learn more about their own songs, and the band is currently prepping its first full-length as a trio, with a Triple Down Records release scheduled for 2009.

Me You Us Them understand they're among an overwhelming number of artists producing music in an age when anyone can conceive and capture an idea instantaneously thanks to digital technology. It's a tradeoff, Jano explains. “There's a lot more garbage floating around, [but there are] also a lot more gems as well,” he says. And even in a squalid music industry and economy, the group seems poised to carry on. "You can cut off my legs, but my hands will still make music," Ljungquist says. "They don’t know what else to do."

Me You Us Them play w/ Appamattox @ Lit, Weds., Nov. 13, 2008. 9:00 p.m. Tickets are $6 and can be bought at the venue.