Spin (9/99, pp.199-200) - 8 out of 10 - "...[TALKER] is addictive....when you actually hear rules being crushed altogether and the results still...'swing', then attention must be paid....outstanding..."
Alternative Press (8/99, p.96) - 4 (out of 5) - "...the only honest way to play rock in the late '90s without sounding corny..."
Magnet (8-9/99, p.94) - "...TALKER is the sort of somber discussion best set in a dank basement with a whiff of death in the air."
The Wire (8/99, p.59) - "...US Maple can possibly stake a legitimate claim to being true heirs of early Red Krayola....the album is in a league of its own."
CMJ (6/14/99, p.26) - "...Awash in barbed-wire knots of treble and shot through with Al Johnson's extroverted, husky grunt, TALKER is the most cohesive of the group's three albums....for the first time ever, the quartet's carefully sharpened chaos makes perfect sense."
Rovi