US Maple - Purple On Time.
(Drag City)
When I should be labouring over a report for my museum studies class, instead I've got a much more challenging assignment: to review the new US Maple album. First of all, it's almost impossible to apply any music criticism logic to a US Maple album. You can't use comparison; they have developed such a singular musical language that measuring them against other bands is like comparing apples to oranges. Description doesn't cut it; singer Al Johnson's wheeze-cough delivery can't de expressed in words. You obviously can't categorize; US Maple belong to their own genre, sometimes referred to as US Maplism. They pray at a rock & roll altar but are also almost completely removed from its more obvious elements, such verse-chorus-verse, conventional melody and linear beat.
I guess you could say I'm a bit biased; through their past releases, US Maple have convinced me that they are the most talented rock band of recent times. From a purely technical standpoint, the guitar orchestration is breathtaking, and about as far from random as Angus Young. While their music may seem at times improvised, it is highly structured and full of references, and unlike most indierock, US Maple are willing to take some serious risks. They chew up and spew out all the really threatening elements of rock & roll. With a smirk, they capture a sense of fun in what is otherwise perceived as serious music, and somehow manage to stay sincere...if you don't have at least some reaction, check your pulse. ....like I said.....you can't really describe it.
After repeated listens at both high and low decibels I've come to a conclusion: Purple On Time. is probably U.S. Maple's weakest album. Where guitars used to wildly vibrate, buzz and cut they now chime, drumsticks used to fall they now falter and where Al Johnson used to barf his vocals he now just burps. This is partly due to a few missteps, the most obvious one being an unfortunate cover of Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay," which brings the whole puppy down a few notches.
Purple On Time. does have its share of firecrackers. Three tracks, "Sweet & Centre," "Tan Loves Blue" and especially "I'm Just A Bag," demonstrate why US Maple is so talented when it comes to putting the pieces together. These tracks are fucking awesome and should be played at full rocking volume. New drummer Adam Vida brings a steadiness to their sound, as evidenced by the completely conventional build up to opener "My Lil' Shocker." Compare this to "Bumps and Guys," the kick-off track to Talker, and you'll see how things have changed. Purple On Time. is US Maple's most accessible outing since Long Hair in Three Stages, but its all relative once Johnson explodes. His lyrics are still all mangled street poetry, Johnson has talked of trying to capture the sound of two people arguing on a sidewalk. Simple, everyday words are juxtaposed to create a kind of fantastical netherworld, full of colours, animals and very rock expressions. (count the number of 'yeahs' you hear on the record) Check out this nugget of wisdom, "we bleed and follow home/oh no/for meat and panther home/oh on/I'm your diamond snot/even snakes get slow/to pop."
The world has changed since US Maple burst onto the scene in the mid 1990s, under the patronage of the excellent Skin Graft records. They will have to battle for attention with the current breed of right-now wave "out"-fits, like Black Dice, Wolf Eyes, Sightings, Animal Collective et al. But Johnson is up for the challenge, as he sings on "I'm Just A Bag," "young bands put serious meat on me.../and young bands.../I'm serious". US Maple are really following the path of their rock heroes. It goes like this: after a few stellar albums, the great ideas merely become good ones. Basically, Purple On Time. is a good record from a damn fine rock band.
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