new U.S Maple - any good?

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Is Pitchfork's assertion that it's 'alt-country' at all correct? And is it any good?

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Thursday, 16 October 2003 03:12 (twenty-two years ago)

www.dragcity.com has an mp3....sounds like Maple to me....but a little more put together (not alt-country by any stretch).

However, Acre Thrills was prob. their most "conventional" (a term to use loosely when discussing Maple) since Long Hair In Three Stages....I don't know, they've been one of my favorite bands of the last few years and I'm not very excited. It seemed like Acre Thrills was a good summary of their career and they should have left it at that. Also, Pat Samson was a pretty integral part of that band, I'm curious how his exit affects it.

― Matt Helgeson (Matt Helgeson), Thursday, 16 October 2003 03:36 (twenty-two years ago)

I've listened to it and found it quite good in fact, but I only knew Acre Thrills before this one. And no, it's not altl-country, but it's true that this record may be more conventionnal that what they did before. Still, they've got one of the best rock singer.

― Olivier (anagrama), Thursday, 16 October 2003 06:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I can't imagine purchasing a US Maple album anytime in the near future, but I will drive a couple of hours to see them live! I saw them open for JSBX last year and loved it so much, and doubly-loved the sight of many in the audience taking offence to them. I met up with the vocalist later to tell him that I enjoyed their set immensely, and he challenged me to state why I liked it. The only response I had was that I didn't know why exactly, but just that I didn't want the set to stop.

― peepee (peepee), Thursday, 16 October 2003 16:17 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't like US Maple. I just wanted you to know.

Is there any reason why I should? I have their albums but cannot get into them. Maybe I am starting in the wrong place. If they are so good, you could convince me to love them.

― Dean Gulberry (deangulberry), Thursday, 16 October 2003 16:34 (twenty-two years ago)

I've seen US Maple open for a bands and cannot figure out why some people like them other than the fact they end up getting most of the audience wanting to throw them off the stage.

Of course, I used to think the same thing about Royal Trux and wouldn't give them the time of day after seeing them open a show. I found one of RT's CDs used for a buck and have realized there is some music underneath the schtik.

― earlnash, Thursday, 16 October 2003 16:48 (twenty-two years ago)

The track on the Drag City site ("Dumb in the Wings") is probably the best song on the album. It's not a *bad* record, but not at all up to the level of the last three, and it's much more normal than usual. It's not alt-country, but there is one song that steals a country-style guitar riff, though it's used in a very different context. I'm really finding the cover of Lay Lady Lay very annoying. Program it out, though, and you've got a reasonably good record. I'd say that about three of the songs are great.

Why to like them: they manage to make surprisingly catchy songs that generally have no chorus, no melody, no steady drumbeat and no regular guitar chords, with a singer who doesn't speak, shout or sing. They also put on a great show, even in front of sympathetic audiences (when they played at the Knitting Factory, they had a packed house of fans). Worth noting that they play their songs pretty much note-for-note in concert, so it's much more interesting to see them live if you already know the material.

― dlp9001, Thursday, 16 October 2003 17:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I dunno....I know alot of people that like alot of the same bands I do that absolutely hate Maple....I just like them, I guess....the guitar interplay, the creepy crawly dynamics, wierd whispering, the feeling that they're always pulling the rug out from under you, the fact that they embrace "beefheart" style stuff without sounding at all like beefheart....that said, I could understand them driving some people up the wall.....they are a great live band though, very polarizing.

― Matt Helgeson (Matt Helgeson), Thursday, 16 October 2003 17:22 (twenty-two years ago)

weird. Heard the entire album this summer and had no idea that there was a cover of "Lay Lady Lay" on it. I thought it sounded great, I'll probably pick it up sometime soon.

― hstencil, Friday, 17 October 2003 04:54 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm surprised, but not disappointed (at least not yet). It sucks that Pat Samson left, because the new drummer is just not as interesting; occasionally he'll throw in some tripping-over-itself stutter, but overall his timekeeping is pretty conventional. Purple On Time, however, is NOT alt-country. Putting US Maple's twanginess in a more conventionally melodic context doesn't equal alt-country. It does "rock" a little more in places, though not as chaotically as Long Hair in Three Stages. Their sound doesn't seem quite so unique here, especially after the thoroughly burnt-out non-rock of Talker and Acre Thrills, but it's still recognizably US Maple.

― Nick Mirov (nick), Friday, 17 October 2003 22:48 (twenty-two years ago)

still recognizable horseshit too. If I wanted an indie rock band to sound like they were falling down I'd push one down the stairs. Maybe if somebody pushes U.S. Maple down a flight of stairs they'd sound like they were actually GOING somewhere in the song.

Acre Thrills did a better job of tricking me into thinking the songs they never quite started would actually sound good.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 17 October 2003 23:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I was pretty sure that "Lay Lady Lay" would be the vinyl only track, as it really doesn't fit, but I was wrong. It's "Favors Are Weird" which is a pretty good song that could have worked on either of their previous two albums.

The promo CD comes with a cute design: a picture of a promo sticker on the cd, that someone has tried to remove.

― dlp9001, Saturday, 18 October 2003 18:47 (twenty-two years ago)

two weeks pass...

anyone else still playing this? I loved it for a week because it was the new u.s. maple, but my interest dropped off sharply. the new drummer just isnt the same (duh). not at all like alt-country except in being a little boring. "tan loves blue" is fantastic song though!

― Ommmm, Monday, 3 November 2003 14:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Not to try to "take it back," but for the Pitchfork review, I didn't write the front-page assertion that the band had gone alt-country. At the end of my review I meant that that's a direction they could take, if they continue to "normalize." But the real point is that the album is more conventional and less interesting than their other stuff, and that also (coincidentally or not), it's not as strong.

― Chris Dahlen (Chris Dahlen), Monday, 3 November 2003 18:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe if somebody pushes U.S. Maple down a flight of stairs they'd sound like they were actually GOING somewhere in the song.

I'm afraid this has always been my feeling as well. Live, you kinda wanna put the theory into practice.

― brian nemtusak (sanlazaro), Tuesday, 4 November 2003 00:46 (twenty-one years ago)

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