U.S. Maple are a band that took a long time to make sense to me. I briefly investigated at age fifteen when I first became interested in bands like Shellac, because I'd heard they occupied a similar niche. Well, I fucking hated it, to put it nicely. I just assumed it was another one of those bands that I would never get and anyone who did was simply doing so for the sake of conversation... fast forward six years and hey! shit is great! I'm hearing everything I didn't hear the first time around! maybe my six years of listening have expanded my palette or maybe I've become one of those douchebags I assumed were the only people capable of liking this in the first place. Probably the latter...Anyway, the music here is not rock. Don't listen to people who call these guys noise-rock. This has way more in common with the jazz-ethos of bands like Harry Pussy than the tight-wound stuff we've come to expect from genre staples like Shellac or the Jesus Lizard. However, while Harry Pussy is all about exploring the extremes of punishing volume and depressing quiet this is more of a musical waiting-game. The 'songs' careen from formless jams and then tease you with a riff and a steady beat for a minute then careen back off into unexplored territory. Also, much like the Doors, no bass!*
...just two guitars. One downtuned and EQ'd for the heavy and the other one tuned for maximum dissonance with the treble in the red. Pretty cool in concept and execution. I'm done talking, listen to this shit.
*Before you think "what a tool, the doors had an organ!"... this is a Kids in the Hall reference
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