With albums like II (2017) and Tripolar (2023), the trio known as Usted Señalemelo established itself as one of the most visionary bands in the highly competitive field of Argentine rock. But the band’s ascent was never loud or glamorous. Hailing from the province of Mendoza, Usted works their magic in subtle ways.
The band’s recently released fourth album, Términos & Condiciones, finds singer Juan Saieg, guitarist Gabriel Cocó Orozco and drummer Lucca Beguerie Petrich fusing melodramatic synth-pop, touches of South American folk, and lush electronica with cosmopolitan glee. The late-night decadence of “Dando vueltas” — an anthemic collaboration with Portugal. The Man – and the hyper-romantic rock chorus of “Marca Piel” reveal a band at its creative apex.
A few weeks before launching a tour that will find them playing all over Latin America and Europe, the band talked to Rolling Stone about its fastidious approach to layering sounds and the daring decision to pare things down and perform the new songs as a trio.
It’s been a couple of months since Términos & Condiciones came out. Do you feel the temptation to obsessively check your streaming numbers?
Saieg: Usted has always focused on a long-term plan, so we try not to get too anxious about those things. Obviously it’s hard not to fall into the trap, especially when you’re sensitive or a bit OCD, as all of us tend to be. We try to use the metrics in a healthy way.
Petrich: The first few days after releasing an album, we become obsessive about its impact and what people are saying. There’s always that intrigue after working for so long on a project. But then we played a couple of nights at [iconic Buenos Aires venue] Niceto Club, and it was nice to experience the reaction of real people in front of us. A lot of fans were singing the new tracks as if we had put them out ten years ago. Nothing could be more genuine than that.
The new album is incredibly layered and complex, but you’ve chosen to play it live as a trio, with no additional musicians.
Saieg: As we were making the album, we realized that the process connected us to the roots of who we are: just the three of us, experimenting with sound. The decision to perform the songs by ourselves forced us to rethink them. Lucca now triggers some synth bass in the intros, and Cocó has been playing a lot of piano. It’s a very exciting challenge, as it pushes us to think out of the box.
I’m blown away by the sheer amount of detail in the new songs. They are loaded with micro-melodies and delicate touches of keyboards and loops. It’s crafted with so much love.
Orozco: I’m so happy the attention to detail comes through. For the longest time, we got together eight hours a day and kept refining the tracks; it was like polishing a stone. As a group, we never stop until all three of us are entirely satisfied with every single song. What you hear on this record is the sum of all our individual obsessions.
Saieg: Part of what we do is, by necessity, connected to “the music industry,” if you will. The real motivation, however, is our passion for the arts.
This is meant as a compliment: “Matarme Con Vos” sounds like Depeche Mode during the Violator era. Did you grow up listening to them?
Petrich: My dad is a Depeche Mode fanatic. He’s been wanting to be Dave Gahan since he was fifteen [Laughs.] When we started playing together, the guys would come to my house and we would listen to my father’s records: tons of Depeche Mode and The Cure, but also stuff like Rammstein. Then we would meet at Cocó’s house, or Juan’s, and encounter music that was completely different. This is why we can make a song that echoes Depeche, but then play something in 3/4 that’s imbued in Argentine folk. We were always like a sponge that way, absorbing everything in our path.
Juan, your singing thrives on a lovely, yin-yang balance between masculine and feminine. How did you develop that?
Saieg: Growing up, there was always a balance between male and female in my family. My mom is a true fighter, and I feel I incorporated some of her female energy from the crib; it was always there at home, and it gave me the security to experiment. Both of my parents are artists. I feel I’m singing much better on this record. I read some Shakespeare and watched a lot of cult movies during the production phase. Some of those theatrical elements seeped into the album.
Aesthetically, most of the new songs create a sleight-of-hand illusion. Initially they sound a bit frosty and distant. But if you get closer, it’s like there’s molten lava hiding underneath. Was this intentional?
Saieg: That’s our indie connection. The heritage of all the bands we love, like Foster the People.
Petrich: We love the kind of songs where you have to really immerse yourself in order to get the full experience. We don’t do it on purpose. It’s what comes naturally to us. In effect, this album could have been much more complex. We have our internal battles where we regulate the extent to which we delve into weird structures and sounds.
This summer you will play a show in London, the mecca of so much of the music that influenced you. Are you excited?
Orozco: We had the opportunity to play London before, and we changed the plane tickets just so we could spend another half a day in that city. It’s totally surreal. We were huge Beatles lovers, raised on the music and culture from that country — we learned from it, and tried to imitate it in our own way. To think that three guys from Mendoza get to play there is simply unbelievable to me. I remember walking the streets of London and thinking, “How crazy that music has brought us here!”