Washington D.C.'s Utris formed in 1995, when vocalist Andrew Deerin, guitarist J. Patrick Hastings, bassist Deke Shipp and drummer Damon Dwyer were still high school students. Later that year they self-released their first collection of songs, The Balls Album. Though the first pressing sold out and the album subsequently went out-of-print, word of mouth and underground dubbing of the album helped spread Utris' music. Meanwhile, the group spent over three years in the studio recording tracks; in 1999, they were signed to Annex Records and early the following year, their second album The Long Walk Home, appeared. Landscapes was issued two years later. ~ Heather Phares