Talker

it is rare to find the group that can truly create something new and original, truly push music foward in this day and age. u.s. maple are one of the few groups who have managed to find a wholly unique and innovative sound. they've managed to infuse the best elements of post-punk and american indie guitar experimentalism with a free jazz sensibility to create a form of free punk. the guitars play off of the drums and each other in a way that is utterly fluid and dynamic, sometimes sounding like total chaos, but then they'll all come together on a beat and change the feel in an instant and in synch...and over it all is al johnson's whispered screamed bent lyrics. the guitar playing is utter genius, and the guitar players' approach to sound is enthralling. neither uses effects per se, but instead rely on getting a great sound from the amp and focus on the physicality of the guitar, generating weird squeaks, scrapes and hums, slashes of notes and sheets of sound flowing and twisting around each other like an animal being tortured. they are true guitar virtuosi. the drummer displays a similar attention to his kit, generating percussive noises from all areas, while maintaining the organic sensitivity that fuels the songs. what possibly inspires these madmen into such realms of madness is beyond imagination. maybe they're not really from this planet, instead aliens posing as musicians. if that's the case, then the world is a better place for it. this is hands down the best, most innovative, original and complex album to be released last year. if you haven't heard it, and you enjoy the challenge of new things, you are doing yourself a disservice by not picking it up.

I love this band. Avid doom metal fan here so I can stand the slow stuff. Not many rewards at climax of the songs. I suggest Acre Thrills or Long hair. Also check out Shorty. Though this cd isn't great you gotta give them props for being unique in the 'weird' music world.

One either loves or hates this album. Listen and you'll hear Talker speak in one of the most refreshing voices of the last 10 years. With this album, US Maple experiments with lack of rhythm and structure. The build up on Bumps and Guys only leads to a wonderfully unexpected anticlimax. the listener in never sure where these guys are going. Head nodding is an impossibility. I have seen these songs performed live in front of an unappreciative crowd who either, dare i sound pretentious, didn't get it at all, or were simply there to hear something else-something which turned out to be boring as heaven! Any band that can make litte Pavement girls cower at my feet with their hands clentched over their ears is well worth checking out.

While fans of their two previous albums will certainly enjoy this one, it has a relatively different sound. "Long Hair in 3 Stages" sounded almost like a pop album thrown into a shredder and glued back together (I mean that in a positive way), and "Sang Phat Editor" was a chaotic masterpiece. "Talker," on the other hand concentrates more on-- dare I say it-- beauty. Yes, it is also chaotic, but as the notes and warped melodies crash into, bounce off and drive right through one another, they seem to glide around, trying to fit together in a singular flow. Much of it makes you feel as though you're listening to it in slow motion, but there is never a dull moment. If you want a challenging listen, pick this one up-- it is spectacular. But, be warned, it's not for beginners.

i guess all that can be said is that if you loved "sang phat editor", this is more of the same zipplonkzapzzzzzapzapayyyyyyy-kinda thing...i hope the CD version ends up coming with the same lyric insert that the LP does, a folded piece of normal 3-hole lined paper with lyrics typed and band instructions and corrections scrawled with red marker...("Call to confirm: M. Gira?" being a particularly funny one) oh, such wit...one especially creepy thing on this is the lyrics to "breeze, it's your high school", given the recent crossfire and all (sample: "it's your high school/doesn't see you/send sirens to that place/and then/do all your serious breeze/and then/it's YOUR high school")...maybe I'm just thinking about that a little too much though...in any case, it's cool to go back and listen to DNA and stuff after first hearing these guys...You Fantastic! also seem pretty rad along the same lines...

I despise this band. I just saw these guys open for Tortoise and their set was excruciating. U.S. Maple are a bunch of poseurs (it makes no difference if they have big hair & spandex or if they're part of the "cool" Chicago art-rock mafia, a poseur is a poseur). I love "Metal Machine Music," Beefheart, Pere Ubu, Dark Audio Project, but I still hated everything about this band. Just indescribably bad. Bad, bad, bad! Based on the reviews below, some will take this as a sign they are among the "chosen few" who "get it." Whatever. If you go to a live performance by this band, take a book (or some rotten fruit). I resent this band for wasting 45 minutes of my life with their self-indulgent posturing.

It's not a challenge anymore to create weird music. If that's what you like, then great, there's certainly enough off kilter guitar noodling like U.S. Maple out there to keep you happy. I'm interested in this kind of music, and always willing to investigate some creative indie rock, but usually find myself disappointed with what I hear. It's the occasisonal jewel like Don Caballero that makes searching through the haystack of U.S. Maples worthwhile.