Mazes are a four-piece who formed in Manchester in 2009 but are now based in London. They are one of those groups you could review just by making a check list of bands they remind you of.
Marc Riley was pretty much on the button when he likened their sound to a cross between "garagey Kinks" and "crazed Monkees"..
This is their first 'proper' release, having been preceded by a mammoth back catalogue of straight to tape recordings.
Mazes are not ones for lingering in the studio and fretting over post-production.
The fact that they approach the task with such joyful abandon encourages you to overlook the lack of innovation and enter into the spontaneous pleasure-seeking spirit with which it was made.
This is a band cognisant of the fact that the British sixties pop blueprint had all the ingredients in place. Their philosophy seems to be 'If it ain't broke, why fix it?'
They add to this wisdom with more than just a friendly nod towards US post-punk and more recent Shitgaze of label-mates No Age or Psychedelic Horseshit .
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Plus, if Surf & Turf/Maths Tag and Bowie Knives sound to you like Pavement titles then one listen will prove that this is no coincidence.
Hooks are gleefully plundered for summery effect although titles like Cenotaph, Death House and Til I'm Dead show they are not just superficial beach bums.
With thirteen tracks in just over half an hour there isn't much time to catch your breath here.
The shortest (Eva) is just 28 seconds long while Till I'm Dead at just over four minutes seems positively epic in this company .
If this album signals a resurrection of phoney Beatlemania, then Mazes are right up there as contenders for the post of the new Fab Four.
Mazes at Myspace
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