Maps & Atlases took a giant leap toward the mainstream with Perch Patchwork, their excellent full-length debut. The band’s early EPs were thick with sinewy, mathematical grooves that were also excellent, just harder to listen to for more than an EP’s worth of time. But such grooves were thinned out significantly to make room for bigger hooks, deeper emotions, and poppier structures on Patchwork. For their second LP, Beware And Be Grateful, Maps & Atlases take a small step closer to the mainstream with one foot as the other foot steps back toward their dense, intricate roots. It’s pleasing to hear the band widen their stance, and only in one spot does the delicate balance start to wobble.
As always, Dave Davison leads with his strangled, soulful voice; guitarist Erin Elders fires off riffs that show off his fleet fingers as well as his sharp hook-sense; and bassist Shiraz Dada & drummer Chris Hainey remain one of the best rhythm sections in America. The textures on Beware are cleaner and sleeker than usual, but the structures are looser and jammier again. The meat of the album, as with Patchwork, sounds like lean-muscled, Cat Stevens-fronted Tropicália (”Winter,” “Silver Self,” “Be Three Years Old,” “Bugs,” “Old Ash”). The vibe may be familiar, though there’s plenty of dazzling novelty scattered in there, like the deliciously squiggly riffs of “Winter,” the hyper-doodle solo sprawling across the second half of “Silver Self,” and Davison’s throat-scratching passion in “Old Ash.”
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Maps & Atlases became one of my new favorite bands in 2010, when their full-length debut Perch Patchwork floored me with its blend of intricate virtuosity and accessible pop songcraft. So I’ve been awaiting new music from this band the way comics geeks have been awaiting The Dark Knight Rises. “Winter” is the first single from Maps & Atlases’ forthcoming album Beware And Be Grateful, and to me, it feels like a nice teaser more than an exciting trailer. It’s got me a bit more hyped to hear the new LP, though I can’t help but hope they’re just saving the real fireworks for later.
Singer Dave Davison’s vocals and melodies aren’t quite as soulful or venturesome as most of the ones I fell for on Perch Patchwork, but I’m OK with that. They’re catchy enough to keep me humming along, and besides, the instruments pick up more than enough slack here. Bassist Shiraz Dada and drummer Chris Hainey are as springy, propulsive, and lockstep-tight as they’ve ever been, while Erin Elders’ guitars fill in the blanks with plenty of squiggly hooks. If “Winter” proves to be one of the stronger tracks on Beware And Be Grateful, it should still be a solid and satisfying album. But I’m crossing my fingers that “Winter” is merely a hint of what’s to come, and that it turns out Maps & Atlases have pushed themselves to greater heights yet again.
I often wake up with songs already stuck in my head. However, this phenomenon rarely involves music I’ve been deliberately sticking into my head. Even when I’m ribs-deep in an album I’m reviewing- and even if it’s an album by a Top 40 hook machine like Lady Gaga- I don’t really wake up hearing its tracks inside my brain. Usually this just happens with random cheese from the ’80s and early ’90s that I haven’t heard since childhood.
But in the few weeks since I’ve started listening to Maps & Atlases’ Perch Patchwork, I’ve awoken nearly every morning with one of its tracks spinning in my mental stereo. And I don’t mean just one of its tracks. I mean most of the album’s songs have had at least one turn waking me up. This album is that absurdly catchy. Yet these melodies aren’t merely absurdly catchy. They’re nimble and sophisticated and precise, like Eastern European acrobats. Propelled by refreshingly unorthodox rhythms, intricate riffs, and singer Dave Davison’s tastefully poignant voice, the tunes frequently ascend toward heaven like fluttering moths before trickling back down to earth like misty rain.
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I haven’t heard any of the 4 EPs Maps & Atlases have released, but I stumbled upon their full-length debut Perch Patchwork and was pleasantly surprised. Their sound is rich with peculiar, worldly rhythms and acrobatic melodies that feel more like hooks than exercises for music theory geeks. Sometimes it gets a little too breezy for my taste, but there’s no question that I’d like to spend some more time with this record. A full review should be up here within the next couple of weeks.