[atsonicpark]

 

Genius band. Deconstructive, with all instruments clashing in a way that is most easily compareable to Beefheart (there are other similarities, most noticeably the single note guitar riffs, the slide guitar lines, the clean guitars, drums that rely on toms and hihats and almost no cymbals), but honestly, not even Beefheart ever sounded as ... off ... as U.S. Maple does on certain songs.

And, yet, unlike past efforts, the music on here sounds kinda "traditional" (or, at least, as traditional as you're gonna get with these guys) on certain songs. Take a song like "Obey Your Concert"; it moves along with rhythms that feature all instruments locked together in a pretty interesting way... before completely falling apart repeatedly. In time. And then out of time.

Sometimes it sounds like a mess. Actually, most of the time it does. But it's a mess that hints at better things, musically. It's not even that the band is "strange" or "CRaZy", it's that this is one of the few CD's I've heard that seems to hint at... something more. It's not math rock or post-rock or any of that stuff (first things first, it doesn't rock). It sounds like a type of music that has yet to be invented. Where riffs don't really matter, neither do rhythms. The music changes so much that it's easy to get lost in its complexity, yet what's actually being played is so simple that words like "complexity" don't even seem to matter.

Inspiring stuff. U.S. Maple never made a bad album, but I think this is the one they did that's a classic.

www.mediafire.com/?znznjo2ddhx

34 minutes of them recording it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loni6SVagbw

[atsonicpark]

wanna hear a perfect song? "chang you're attractive." the guitars are actually kinda beautiful, but mostly creepy, in how they clash at times but usually work together in really interesting ways most of the time. while they never play "right" notes, and the drums never play a catchy rhythm, the creepier lines are accentuated by drums that are just a cymbal lightly played, while the intense noisey guitar stuff is accompanied by loud banging drums. see, it makes sense, just not in a conventional way, not in a 'GUITAR BOOK FOR DUMMIES: CHORDS AND RIFFS!' way. this approach to trying to reinvent the language of music itself is not one explored by many bands -- shellac sometimes has done this, but not many others.... when most bands try to do things like this, it comes off as silly, predictable, embarassing, even unlistenable, usually just shitty improvising... or bands playing the same thing over and over and over again..

how a band could be simultaneously be this on AND off is beyond me. all these songs are WRITTEN, btw, not improvised. the songs are mostly based on colors and shapes and diagrams, btw. thats how they came to exist.


finally, this album was produced by the producer of SPIDERLAND.

[tcpotbntmy]

definitely checking out.

[Savage Clone]

I really hate this music.

[Decayed Rhapsody]

They're definitely a love/hate band. I like 'em, but I need to be in the mood. I really had to sit with them before it clicked. I tried to put them on when I was on a roadtrip once and was nearly ejected from the vehicle.

[atsonicpark]

So good.

They split up into two amazing bands: D. Rider (who I'm doing a split with soon, hopefully) and Singer. Beofre U.S.M, hey were known as SHORTY. All that stuff is just great just amazing amazing musicians right here.

[Derek]

Fantastic band.

[auto-aim]

I'll have to check out D. Rider and Singer!

[atsonicpark]

Oh, thy're fucking excellent. D Rider has a great video on youtube, look it up. They got some synth stuff going on!

Been on a huge U.S. Maple kick this week. Probably one of the best live bands ever, to boot.

[Decayed Rhapsody]

I really really like Singer. Just listened to some samples.

[Derek]

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