kyle.shaffer
04/23/08, 09:47 PM
Maps - The Wick and the Fire
Record Label: Crossroads of America
Release Date: June 10, 2008
If it strikes you as odd that an instrumental, experimental rock group would spring from the capital of country music, consider yourself in good company. With two of the genre’s heaviest hitters, Russian Circles and Pelican, operating out of Chicago, the eye of the scene has no doubt been focused there. And while Nashville natives Maps have obviously taken cues from their neighbors to the north, they also convincingly pay homage to math-rock pioneers like Faraquet and Don Caballero. These gents have done their homework and conduct an assault on the ears and the mind with The Wick and the Fire.
Obscure song titles aside, Maps deliver direct, heady compositions that exude a high caliber of musicianship without sounding long winded or overindulgent. While this record is ripe with twisting meters and anthemic guitar lines, the focus remains on songwriting. It’s technical without being proggy, and strangely concise as in the fiery opener “Failure of Constancy” which clocks in at under two minutes. Surprise influences like Pele seep through the melodic opening of “Ambuscade” before guitars reminiscent of the D.C. post-punk scene cut to the forefront over a solid foundation of drums and bass.
Where their windy city brethren opt for brooding heaviness, Maps more often convey a noisy hopefulness as in “Reverse Telescope,” a tune that fades in and out of noodley tapping parts via guitarists Taylor Franks and Pete Kron before sinking into the feel-good riff of the record. “Breathing Water” finds the group falling in line behind Chris Vicari’s driving drums, which provide a trampoline for the rest of the song to ricochet from into a constant, ambient pulse. The quartet provides listeners with a brief rest-stop with the reflective “Spread My Love With a Knife” before launching into the eerier territory of songs like “The Alchemy of Economy.”
Even the laughably named “Party Hats and Attitude” proves a rewarding listen in its wandering guitar lines, sprinkled occasionally by accenting chords and rhythmic stops. Ever melodic, the song comes to a celebration of sorts before its curt exit. Within the last two songs of the record, the band manages to explore unexpected territory in the groove-centered “My Desire to be Napoleon.” Closer “Synergy” functions somewhat as an appropriate amalgamation of all the record’s most important attributes: ambience, intricacy, and sensibility.
It’s true that a band like Maps may get lost in the mix of a genre filled with so many giants. But that fact makes a record like The Wick and the Fire all the more ambitious. Though their older contemporaries may get a bit gloomy comparatively, these four sonically strive for something a bit more uplifting. Maps’ latest release shows a band well versed in the school of post-rock, bravely projecting its own thoughts on a tradition that deserves to be challenged by such a bright, talented band.
Russian Circles, Pelican, Faraquet, Don Caballero
myspace.com/maps (http://www.myspace.com/maps)
Record Label: Crossroads of America
Release Date: June 10, 2008
If it strikes you as odd that an instrumental, experimental rock group would spring from the capital of country music, consider yourself in good company. With two of the genre’s heaviest hitters, Russian Circles and Pelican, operating out of Chicago, the eye of the scene has no doubt been focused there. And while Nashville natives Maps have obviously taken cues from their neighbors to the north, they also convincingly pay homage to math-rock pioneers like Faraquet and Don Caballero. These gents have done their homework and conduct an assault on the ears and the mind with The Wick and the Fire.
Obscure song titles aside, Maps deliver direct, heady compositions that exude a high caliber of musicianship without sounding long winded or overindulgent. While this record is ripe with twisting meters and anthemic guitar lines, the focus remains on songwriting. It’s technical without being proggy, and strangely concise as in the fiery opener “Failure of Constancy” which clocks in at under two minutes. Surprise influences like Pele seep through the melodic opening of “Ambuscade” before guitars reminiscent of the D.C. post-punk scene cut to the forefront over a solid foundation of drums and bass.
Where their windy city brethren opt for brooding heaviness, Maps more often convey a noisy hopefulness as in “Reverse Telescope,” a tune that fades in and out of noodley tapping parts via guitarists Taylor Franks and Pete Kron before sinking into the feel-good riff of the record. “Breathing Water” finds the group falling in line behind Chris Vicari’s driving drums, which provide a trampoline for the rest of the song to ricochet from into a constant, ambient pulse. The quartet provides listeners with a brief rest-stop with the reflective “Spread My Love With a Knife” before launching into the eerier territory of songs like “The Alchemy of Economy.”
Even the laughably named “Party Hats and Attitude” proves a rewarding listen in its wandering guitar lines, sprinkled occasionally by accenting chords and rhythmic stops. Ever melodic, the song comes to a celebration of sorts before its curt exit. Within the last two songs of the record, the band manages to explore unexpected territory in the groove-centered “My Desire to be Napoleon.” Closer “Synergy” functions somewhat as an appropriate amalgamation of all the record’s most important attributes: ambience, intricacy, and sensibility.
It’s true that a band like Maps may get lost in the mix of a genre filled with so many giants. But that fact makes a record like The Wick and the Fire all the more ambitious. Though their older contemporaries may get a bit gloomy comparatively, these four sonically strive for something a bit more uplifting. Maps’ latest release shows a band well versed in the school of post-rock, bravely projecting its own thoughts on a tradition that deserves to be challenged by such a bright, talented band.
Russian Circles, Pelican, Faraquet, Don Caballero
myspace.com/maps (http://www.myspace.com/maps)