US Maple - Acre Thrills
(Drag City)
As soon as Al Johnson growled the opening "Yeah, yeah" on "Me, Digital," I felt the
same sense of confusion, creepiness, and unease that accompanies the first listen to any
US Maple record. Acre Thrills, their third 12/12 album in a row, will never sound quite
like it did the first time I heard it nor will any subsequent listen sound like another.
After the first few rounds, the music begins to unravel and make some sense. Their
warped, inverted take on rock and roll is not easily accessible but quite rewarding. What
sounds like a disorienting mess at first proves again to be completely orchestrated and
composed (and if you don't believe me, see them live).
Some may say that US Maple are more "together" on this one, as the rhythms seem
slightly more accessible than on 1999's brilliant Talker. It's insignificant--the band is
clearly hitting their stride, with their rock ballad "Rice Ain't Afraid of Nothing," a song
which attains a majestic grandeur when filtered through this band. Skewed, bending
guitar notes run away from your ears like ants under a rock, circling around Johnson's
cryptic lyrics with exact precision.
O, how do I love this album! Whether it's the sputtering low guitar that opens "Babe" or
the throwback to "Apollo, Don't You Crust," Acre Thrills is continually delightful. Pat
Samson's not-quite-random military beats accent the guitars in a subtly brilliant way that
only becomes realized as the songs slowly seep into your subconscious. I can't think of
another band today that is really progressing as much from where Beefheart began 30
years ago. The record also sounds great--the guitars leap out of the speakers, and the
drums resonate in a way that only 180 gram can produce.
Lyrically, Al Johnson has created another impenetrable mess of words, delivered in a
voice that gets raspier with each record. The band could be seen as an entire parody of
rock and roll or maybe just a bunch of practical jokesters. "Obey Your Concert" and
"Total Fruit Warning" are more silly than weird, and the frequent Yeahs start to feel
cathartic after awhile.
US Maple are the best band in rock music today. Period. It may be awhile before they
are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but their recognition will eventually
come.
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