Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Alternative Press	(very favourable)
The Chicago Reader	(very favourable)
Eddy Silia
Musikexpres	(5/7)
The Vinyl District	(A)

Long Hair In Three Stages is the debut full-length studio album by the Chicago-based experimental rock quartet U.S. Maple. The band formed in early 1995 seeking to "deconstruct rock, only to "erase rock and roll entirely from [their] collective minds" and "then set out to devise a working method for reorganizing the rock and rock, keeping what we feel areits most important core elements." After recording a debut single, they recorded the album in late 1995 at the Solid Sound Studios in Illinois with producer Jim O'Rourke. It was O'Rourke's first recording session with a rock band. The album is often said to "deconstruct" rock music, and in the words of Allmusic, contains "angular guitar attacks, odd skronks, jazzy tones, and a generally deconstructive approach to music into a sound of unparalleled idiosyncrasy." It is also characterized by the unique set up of Todd Rittmann's "low" guitar complimenting Mark Shippy's "high" guitar.

The album was quickly released in October 1995 by Skin Graft Records on CD and a limited edition aluminium-sleeve LP. Although no singles were released from the LP, the band made one promotional clip for the song "State is Bad". The album received unanimously positive reviews from music critics, who praised its unique math rock sound that was often compared to Captain Beefheart. Alternative Press said the album "reaffirms an ideal: that there's still more to be done with electric guitars," whilst Peter Margasask of The Chicago Reader called the album "a stunning debut" which proves "that noise can be more than just a racket." The band toured in promotion of the album in Europe for six-weeks across twelve countries in 1996. The album continued to be critically acclaimed in later times, and is often said to have established the band's "chaotic vibe." In 1999, Alternative Press ranked the album at number 85 in its list of "The 90 Greatest Albums of the 90s," whilst in 2014, music journalist Andrew Earles included the album in his book Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981–1996, and About Entertainment ranked the album at number 4 in their list of the "Top 10 Math-Rock Albums." Todd Lamb of SF Weekly called it a "noisy classic."

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