U.S. Christmas - The Valley Path (Neurot, 2011)

U.S. Christmas
The Valley Path
Neurot
2011

Rating: 9 piles of deer scat out of 10

To put it simply, USX have outdone themselves. Fully. Right now this is the easy frontrunner for album of the year in my mind, and some folks are really going to have to step their game up if they hope to top it.

For starters, the album is just one song, around 38 minutes long. That's no "Dopesmoker" by Sleep, but it's a damn long song. The song ebbs and flows like the tide, with multiple discernible sections held together by an overall ascetic of...doom maybe? Or depression? I dunno, I've never been much for meaning, but this record would make a perfect soundtrack for the most bleak post-apocalyptic movies...certainly the recently released "The Road" would be a good fit. So if you're starving, wandering a barren land, and being chased by cannibals, I'm pretty sure something similar to this could, would or should be playing.

Another point, maybe the main point that makes this record stand out - it's not metal. Not in the typical sense certainly. USX are generally considered a metal band, but this record is so much more than that. As a non-metal person, most of my comparisons for this would draw from a non-metal world - the first portion reminds me a lot of Black Mountain; just after the twenty minute mark, there is a heavy Dirty Three vibe; and I'd have to think most any Mogwai fan would enjoy their more upbeat sections. There are also moments that make me think of Black Heart Procession, Hawkwind (you can't have a USX release without mentioning Hawkwind), and maybe more than anything, mid-to-late seventies Neil Young & Crazy Horse.

At this point this review is a jumbled fuckin' mess and I'm not sure what else to say. This is an absolutely stunner of an album. It's barely left my car CD player for the last two weeks. As much as I've loved USX's previous work, this is now their gold standard.