United States Three - She's The Word

Name: United States Three
Album: She's the Word
Year: 1995
Style: Indie Rock, Nerd Rock
Similar Bands: Rentals, Replacements, The Presidents of the USA, TMBG, Lincoln, Bicycle, Lemonheads
"One-Word" Review: Power Indie Sketchbook
Based Out Of: Indianapolis, IN
Label: Flat Earth Records

Cover & Fold Out Pictures

Liner Notes, CD Back, CD

She's the Word (1995)

1. She's Silly 2:17
2. Bitchin' Time 3:26
3. Waterproof 2:31
4. Open Up for Ann 2:34
5. Resonate With Me 3:44
6. Heavens to Betsy 2:31
7. I Got My Eye on You 3:32
8. Neighborhood Association 4:47
9. Puppet Show 5:49
10. She's the Word 3:39
11. This Time Around 2:24
12. High School 3:45
13. All the Power to the People 3:21
14. Careening In Full Speed 1:08
15. Setting Myself Up 3:53
16. Sensaround 2:43
17. Let's Not Be Friends 3:44

Album Rating (1-10): 7.5

Members & Other Bands:

• Vess Ruhtenberg - Vox, Guitar (Antenna, Gentle Readers, JOT, Many Bright Things, Over the Rhine, Sardina, The Pieces, The Warmth, Action Strasse, Rattail Grenadier, Datura Seeds, Zero Boys, Mysteries of Life, John Mellencamp, Many Bright Things, Mercy Creek, June Panic, Uvulva, Extra Blue Kind, Lemonheads, Kaiser Cartel, Margot & the Nuclear So and Sos, Pink Eagles)
• Mark Cutsinger - Vox, Drums (The Late Show, Windopane, Zero Boys, Why on Earth, Toxic Reasons, Stonewall Weekend, Transportation, Many Bright Things, In the Summer of Mushroom Honey, Trainwreck, Mike Farmer, Machine Guns and Motorcycles)
• Andrew Angrick - Bass
• Lon Paul Ellrich - Drums (Sardina, Mysteries of Life, Butterfly Child, June Panic, Uvulva, Winechuggers, Marmoset, Warmth, Jorma Whittaker, Extra Blue Kind, Lemonheads, Margot & the Nuclear So and Sos)
• John P Strohm - Guitar (Antenna, Blake Babies, Loeb & Loeb, Lemonheads, Velo-Deluxe, Antenna, Cinderblock, Polara, John Walsh & the Sinkholes, Mike Watt, Lisa Germano, Walon Smith)
• DNA 12 - Textural Enhancement
• Paul Mahern - Electromagnetic Translation
• melinda - Laughing
• Roger Seibel - Mastering
• Jonee Quest - Cover Photo
• Bethany Troutman - Model
• Tom Coryell -Band Photos
• Evan Finch - Jacket Tailoring
• Jim Beever - Jacket Tailoring
• Blythe Hager -  Mistress of Propaganda
• Marita Clarke - Abduction Consulate

Unknown-ness: Never heard of this band, but i know i got it in the late 90's in a discount bin at Siren Records. Not sure why i bought it other than the cover & font, which seemed like something i might like. Inside, the liner photos shows an older band with new wave/punk throwback suits and skinny ties with a young front man. Perhaps they play as sort of power pop new wave revival sound, or like the Rentals, basically, but they have an atomic alien logo, so not sure if it won't have a harder (crappy) edge to it. And 17 tracks is quite a bit, even for CDs of the mid 90's.

Album Review: The album feels like a bunch of demos at time, unfinished ideas that come off as acoustic (Waterproof) and slower meanderings (Heavens to Betsy). The music is a little powerpop, but mostly garage indie, reminding me production-wise:  a little of They Might Be Giants in the John Henry era. 

US3 was a basic vehicle for Vess Ruhtenberg's songwriting. With three albums over 4 years, they were a short lived but prolific band who never seemed to catch the break. They combined power pop with a little country and stripped down ideas, perhaps a little too many here to have a cohesive album.

Stand Out Track: Neighborhood Association, She's the Word

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