The United States Of America – THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA***

The American Metaphysical Circus/Hard Coming Love/Cloud Song/The Garden Of Earthly Delights/I Won’t Leave My Wooden Wife For You Sugar/Where Is Yesterday/Coming Down/Love Song For The Dead Che/ Stranded In Time/The American Way Of Love

The sole (ambitiously self titled) album from the electronic rock group The United States Of America who were unusual at the time for eschewing the use of electric guitar. (US:181)

“Completely whacky and wonderfully progressive, this album is light-years ahead of its time and combines avant-garde electronics with rock and jazzy improvisations.” “With their synthesizer and distortion violin and without lead guitar, they go where no album had gone before and few since. The first rock album to make extensive use of the synthesizer as a lead instrument.”

“Turn out the lights, turn up the volume and relax. You're in for one hell of a ride. Your mind will be taken to places it's never been before. Places that are dark, mysterious, terrifying and beautiful. Welcome to The United States Of America.”

“The music is sort of rock, sort of electronic, sort of a lot of things. It is an eclectic mix of influences and is done pretty well. The actual electronic music is a bit sparser than I imagined, but you can't mistake it, especially when the female vocalist sings through a ring modulator.”

“The United States of America's debut and, sadly, only release, is a psychedelic-era gem with a propensity for abstract lyrics, electronic experimentation, and Dixieland jazz. It draws heavily from the 1960s California psychedelic scene that serves as its backdrop. However, the band also make use of electronic effects in ways that were certainly revolutionary in the year of release.”

“Though wildly inconsistent, this album is nonetheless essential for any selfrespecting psych collector, with simply awesome heavy electronic psych and fabulous female vocals over tons of psych effects.”

“They mix a whole lot of stuff in this release, from folk to electronic to rock. It is definitely an interesting listen, and it must have been much more in the late 60s.”