USA
Little Birds
Drag City
Somewhere in Chicago is a road named Ashland, which plays such a large role in the collective daily lives of the members of USA that 3 songs on their album revel in pop madness in a call for a return to civility on the nation’s freeways, backroads, and boulevards. And then, images of Egypt enter into the fray, periodically leaving me wondering whether this album early on had a concept which was subsequently scrapped so they could fit in their songs about old men squabbling. Little Birds jerks along pierced only by high pitched shrieks before a song twists, turns, and shudders from under its own weight and collapses momentarily into random blips before it regains its composure to lumber off into a different direction all together. Somehow, this is pop music, which is amazing, as USA rarely throw in a chorus or any discernible verse, while instead opting to build their songs as compositions or sonic journeys. Drag City, P.O. Box 476867, Chicago, IL 60647; dragcity@mcs.com
