Derek Chan - Bass
Jason Holstrom - Guitar
Carly Jean Nicklaus - Vocals
Amanda Okonek - Vocals
Jon E.Rock - Drums
Peter Sali - Guitar
Noah Star Weaver - Vocoder
Since 2002, U.S.E. has forced critical and populous audiences alike into fits of euphoric dancing with their life-affirming, rock-based interpretation of electronica. Whether dominating frenzied clubs with Sir Mix-A-Lot, Junior Senior, Death Cab For Cutie and Aqueduct or overtaking arena shows with The Presidents of the United States of America, U.S.E. proffers the kind of four-on-the-floor beats and unbridled enthusiasm that put likeminded revelers Andrew W.K., Prince, Underworld and Daft Punk on the map. U.S.E. has hit upon a raw pop concoction all their own.
"U.S.E. rocks a house party like it's a stadium, and rocks a stadium like it's a house party," guitarist Jason Holstrom explains. Indeed, the band crushes audience/performer barriers through their celebratory take on nightlife anthems. From drummer Jon e. Rock's lyrical assassinations, to Peter Sali and Holstrom's dueling rock guitars, Noah Star Weaver's huge vocoder hooks, Amanda Okonek and Carly Jean Nicklaus' sultry, rum-soaked voices, Derek Chan laying down the fundamental on bass, and an incessant four-on-the-floor thumping from the drum machine, U.S.E. annihilates the line between on and off-stage party.
U.S.E. was born in fun after several members jokingly posed as an imaginary electronic band from Mannheim, Germany at a Seattle nightclub, but the septet got serious very quickly after they realized they'd concocted fierce dance gems that made their enraptured audience move. "Whether there were 5 or 500 people there, people said they were having the time of their lives, " recalls Holstrom.
In step with the true organic spirit that still drives U.S.E's positive philosophy, the band self-released three songs in hand-spray painted packaging in 2002 before dropping their full-length two years later. Although approached by numerous independent and major labels, to date, U.S.E. has produced, recorded, mixed and released every record themselves (aside from 2003's self-titled 12" on indie B-Side Records).
The Stranger - Dave Segal
" [U.S.E.'s] self-titled debut is a blues-obliterating serum shot to your root chakra. Placing papaya-sweet, rococo-pop melodies and gorgeous vocodered vocals into uplifting French house rizzims, USE can turn the surliest grouches into incurable optimists. All the labels that passed on this disc will feel silly when USE get their own TV show in 2005."
Bandoppler Magazine - Chris M. Short
"United State of Electronica simultaneously incorporate the best (pounding beat, tight rhythm, chorus as anthem) and the worst (overused sounds, the vocoder, cheesy lyrics) of electronic music with vocals; this sounds like a recipe for disaster, and really it should be. Eiffel 65's huge crossover hit 'Blue (Da Ba Dee)' and Daft Punk come immediately to mind. Not only that, U.S.E. is more than halfway to Haddaway in sound. There are two things that U.S.E. possess that forgive any cheeky irony and the lack of originality: contagious hooks and pure energetic fun.
It should be noted that in addition to those synths, U.S.E. employs real drums, bass guitar, and electric guitars -- the tools of the rock band. Their approach is similar to indie pop bands -- solid melody, big hooks, and stellar arrangements. "
GQ Magazine -B.R.
"Finally, rock music you can dance to. Not since Debby Harry was a cute little lass has there been so much rock music to dance to.
United State of Electronica Hometown: Seattle, Sound: Warm synth-rock you can cuddle to, Album to get: U.S.E., Rump-Shaker: 'Emerald City', which could be the happiest action-news broadcast on the planet."
Pitchfork - Nick Sylvester
"United State of Electronica are a party band, and on their self-titled debut, they pull out all the stops for mindlessly awesome celebratory ambiance: giant, anthemic hooks, a deference to dance before song-to-song variety, shit-for-brains lyrics, some vaguely political obnoxiousness, and, if they're being ironic, a remarkably impenetrable sense of irony. The record pulls no punches: Each track is stuffed with simple and catchy vocal and guitar melodies set against tight, no-frills rhythm sections and a Basement Jaxx-worthy sonic overload in between. And with one big exception, the disc is front-to-back footworthy, never losing a bit of the steam it works up to within its first minute out of the speakers. "
Entertainment Weekly
"Junior Senior's "Move Your Feet" meets Discovery- era Daft Punk on this electro pop act's ecstatic debut album."
Blender
4 STARS (OUT OF 5)
"The Seattle party-starters write songs in the key of "!". Cheerful without being cheesy, the seven-piece U.S.E combine house music 4/4 euphoria with the exuberance of 70's teen-rampage rock- imagine Daft Punk at a rave with the Ramones."
Rolling Stone
"The West Coast beatmasters in United State of Electronica have what you need building giddy techno smashes out of vocoder voices, disco beats, stings and Avalanches style soul samples."
SPIN
"High energy, ultra positive dance tracks... USE eschew irony but gleefully grab Junior Senior songcraft, Daft Punk's Sonics and the B-52's rollicking moxie"
