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Review: 'MAPS & ATLASES'
'Beware And Be Grateful'   

-  Label: 'Fat Cat Records'
-  Genre: 'Indie' -  Release Date: '16th April 2012'-  Catalogue No: 'fatcd115'

Our Rating:
The video trailer for this album tells you something about the Chicago band's attitude but reveals next to nothing about their musical leanings.

Aside from a ten second teaser at the end, it consists of a monologue from a witness to an unexplained incident involving a car in flames and the dramatic escape of the vehicle's occupants. The subtext seems to be that this was some kind of alien occurrence that the media failed to be pick up. You can read into this unconventional promo that this is a band who thrive on making you curious and believe that giving away too much would spoil the fun.

Maps & Atlases are a moderately hairy bunch who exist on the fringes of the US hipster music scene - too hooky to be labelled as experimental and too complex to sneak unnoticed into the mainstream.

They like check shirts and arty pop and math rock is the most popular tag for what they do. This only tells you part of the story though. While they are more than happy to show off their jerky rhythms, they also want to create pure pop songs too - the sort of records that we should be hearing more on the radio.

In consequence, the ten tunes are fun and accessible but yet this remains sophisticated, multi-layered music.

Considering they are four relatively young guys, the track titles reveal a strong preoccupation with ageing (Old & Gray, Remote & Dark Years, Be Three Years Old). Despite this, these lively pieces are as bright as shiny new buttons in which hints of TV On The Radio and late period Talking Heads abound.

At times it is overly busy as on the needlessly extended Silver Self but shorter tracks like Vampires, Bugs and, best of all, Remote & Dark Years prove that their intricate beats can be neatly packed into compact spaces.

This is sharp and clever pop music destined to put a smile on your face and will likely as not prompt many to indulge in spazzy dance moves in the safety of their bedrooms.

Website for Maps & Atlases
  author: Martin Raybould

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MAPS & ATLASES - Beware And Be Grateful