US Maple
If there ever were rightful heirs to Captain Beefheart's brand of mangled rock/blues aesthetic, it would undoubtedly be US Maple. No one has ever managed to sound like they didn't know what the fuck they were doing with such expertise. Just listen to any song in the group's catalog and tell yourselves that they used to play these same songs, note-for-note in a live setting! Now that's talent if you ask me. The comparisons to Beefheart are inevitable, but US Maple are in no way copycats. The Chicago outfit have truly managed to come up with a sound all their own which no one has managed to recreate successfully since them (except perhaps Italy's Starfuckers/Sinistri). Besides the completely warped music, the vocals also take a huge part in the group's particular sound. NO ONE could ever convincingly emulate singer Al Johnson's demented, schizophrenic vocals and nonsensical lyrics without failing miserably. Also fascinating about this group is the evolution from album to album. Their sound has always been quite deconstructed, but with time, it became so incredibly bizarre and eccentric that it felt out-of-reach to the point where it was barely music at all anymore (this peaked with the incredible Talker).
To this day, their sound is so unique it has garnered them a cult following and their fans were avid to hear just how far they could go with their musical dematerialization. What a shock they got when they eventually released the somewhat tight and concise Purple On Time. (which also included a cover of Bob Dylan's Lay Lady Lay). I personally love this album and although it's a big change, I can still hear US Maple's patented sound throughout. The only thing that bugs me about this band is that you never know if they've split up or not as it takes forever between each release. I really hope there is more on the way. I might have gotten rid of their albums when I needed to finance my move to Sweden in 2003, but this was done out of need, not out of my own free will. I started looking for their records again in 2007.
Purple On TimeLabel: Drag City Release: 2003 Format: CD Cat. no: DC 250 |
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