Talker (album)

Talker
Studio album by
U.S. Maple
Released1999
StudioB.C., New York City
GenreArt rock, noise rock
LabelDrag City
ProducerMichael Gira
U.S. Maple chronology
Sang Phat Editor
(1997) 		Talker
(1999) 		Acre Thrills
(2001)

Talker is the third album by the American band U.S. Maple, released in 1999.[1][2] It was their first album for Drag City Records.[3] The band supported it with a North American tour that included a stint opening for Pavement.[4][5]

Production

Recorded over 10 days at B.C. Studio, in New York City, the album was produced by Michael Gira, who worked with the band to achieve a leaner sound and advise on overdubs.[6][7] U.S. Maple were primarily influenced by the blues, experimental music, and Captain Beefheart, unlike many of their Chicago band contemporaries, who were attracted more to Brazilian music and jazz influences.[8] Frontman Al Johnson admired the lyrical clichés and language of 1970s classic rock, which he adopted for his lyrics.[9] He rejected the experimental music label, instead claiming that U.S. Maple was a rock band creating rock music.[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Pitchfork8.5/10[7]
Spin8/10[11]

The Globe and Mail noted that "swamp-horror noise and jigsaw-puzzle riffs meet ... Johnson's howls and groans."[12] The Philadelphia Inquirer opined that "somewhere between the sonic morass of Pere Ubu and the fey artifice of Roxy Music lies the deconstructionist sound of U.S. Maple."[13] The Rocket called Talker "a very unique and clever album devoid of the oft-accused mathrock pretense associated with these post-noiserock, post-Skin Graft veterans."[14] Spin stated that "you can actually hear [rock 'n' roll] rules being crushed altogether and the results still ... swing."[11]

The Staten Island Advance said that the band's "unusual, atonal instrument voicings, tribalistic rhythms and bizarre sing song intonations create an eerie unworldly environment."[15] The Chicago Tribune labeled the album "a spacious, mesmerizing soundscape of microtonal guitar chords, twisted rhythms and imaginatively offbeat songcraft that potently fulfills both components of the 'art-rock' formula."[16] Two years later, the paper concluded that "this abstract, ungainly beast of an album ... increasingly sounds like a classic."[17]

In 2021, Record Collector included Talker on its list of "10 of the Best" Chicago noise rock albums.[18]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Bumps and Guys" 
2."Running from Kabob" 
3."Go to Bruises" 
4."More Horror" 
5."Apollo, Don't You Crust" 
6."Breeze, It's Your High School" 
7."Stupid Deep Indoors" 
8."[untitled]" 
9."So Long Bonus..." 

References

  1. ^ Croft, Tara (June 1999). "Bright lights". Chicago. Vol. 48, no. 6. p. 28.
  2. ^ Williams, Kevin M. (August 8, 1999). "Magical Maple proves rock doesn't have to be sappy". Showcase. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 16.
  3. ^ Mamone, Jordan M. (June 14, 1999). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Report. Vol. 58, no. 622. p. 26.
  4. ^ "Night Life". Weekender. The Columbus Dispatch. August 19, 1999. p. 8.
  5. ^ a b Margasak, Peter (June 10, 1999). "Chaos Spoken Here". Music. Chicago Reader.
  6. ^ Thompson, Joe (March 13, 2024). "The Strange World of ... U.S. Maple". The Quietus. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  7. ^ a b "Talker U.S. Maple". Pitchfork. June 8, 1999. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  8. ^ Reger, Rick (January 19, 2001). "Concert Line". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 40.
  9. ^ "U.S. Maple". Off Beat. No. 158. April 2001. p. 19.
  10. ^ "Talker Review by Heather Phares". AllMusic. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  11. ^ a b Gross, Joe (September 1999). "Reviews". Spin. Vol. 15, no. 9. pp. 199–200.
  12. ^ Everett-Green, Robert (August 21, 1999). "'A slow hydrogen bomb exploding' The strange rebirth of underground-rock legend Captain Beefheart in the summer of 1999". The Globe and Mail. p. C3.
  13. ^ Amorosi, A. D. (August 27, 1999). "U.S. Maple". Features Weekend. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 17.
  14. ^ Clifford, Dave (July 21, 1999). "U.S. Maple Talker". The Rocket. No. 306. p. 35.
  15. ^ Wright, Tom (September 19, 1999). "The Turntable". Staten Island Advance. p. E2.
  16. ^ Reger, Rick (December 17, 1999). "U.S. Maple Delivers Art Rock That Rocks". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 37.
  17. ^ Kot, Greg (February 2, 2001). "The Need to Be Brutal". Chicago Tribune. p. 7.28.
  18. ^ Moores, JR (May 2021). "10 of the Best". Record Collector. No. 518. p. 146.
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