| | Full Review | Ratings (353) |
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| 4.0 excellent | 204409 EMERITUS | March 14th 07 |
Imagine the songwriting of a Midwest-Emo-influenced band like Don Cabellero or Denver in Dallas crossed with the
indie of My Morning Jacket. But that's just the surface. There's the crazed rhythms and tapping guitar of Tera Melos
and Hella, and riffs sweeter and smoother than ones heard from Minus the Bear. It seems like a freaky hybrid of styles,
but Maps and Atlases pull it off well, never becoming too relentlessly mathy or too ironically indie for their own good.
There are a few moments of incongruity and awkwardness, but overall this album is a wonderful example of genre-
bending.
3 Bumps | Bump |
| 0.0 | deathridesahorse | May 30th 10 |
Technical skill in indie rock treads between rarity and re-evaluation of what defines technicality, yet this EP is immediate and concise in proving everyone's chops. There's also a refreshing lack of self-indulgence in the performances, resulting in catchy and melodic tunes. So I have no idea why I'm not that into this, maybe it's the singer:/
Bump |
| 4.5 superb | jredmond | October 19th 09 |
Having loved 'You, Me, and the Mountain,' I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this record. These dudes create eruptions of intricate layers of noise - all while maintaining a very organic feel for the overall sound. The diversity of the percussion is incredible as well. Not only changes in time signatures and rhythm, but also the use of bells, xylophones, etc. Several others have pointed out their guitar work as one of their defining characteristics, and "intricate" only begins to describe the algebraic chaoticism brought on by the guys weilding axes. The mood and energy of the sound shifts in directions from measure to measure, but all while maintaining both the catchiness and the technical prowess similarly exhibited on YMatM.
Bump |
| 4.5 superb | xNintendoCorex | October 25th 08 |
What do you get when you cross the smoothness and sweetness of Dave knudson's unique approach to two handed tapping (listen to any minus the bear song and youll know what i mean) with the spastic moments that make bands like the fall of troy or the mars volta sound unique and then wrap them nicely with the catchyness of any good pop song? maps & atlases are pretty much exactly what you get.
The polyrhythmic nature of the two handed tapping technique they employ as well as the matching but somewhat counter rhythms provided by the drums and bass provide a complex foundation upon which their unique brand of 'indie-pop' songs are grounded.
This complex foundation is composed of tightly executed angular guitar riffs mixed with asymmetric but almost dancey rhythms and voice that could sit between conor oberst and geoff rickley. The heavy use of clean guitar and frantic but rhythmic nature of the music in general make room for melody, the unique vocal approach, while not presenting the most complex of melodies does do the job perfectly it doesn't overpower the songs and allows the music to shine as a whole.
Bump |
| 4.5 superb | embroglio | April 14th 07 |
One day while surfing myspace for new music, I fell in love. On the top 8 of some mediocre indie band was a band called Maps and Atlases, with a picture of some dude with an acoustic guitar and glasses jamming it out with his other bandmates and a Ray Charles lookalike in the crowd. I started listening to "Every Place Is a Hous", and the rest was history. Though Maps and Atlases awe with their harmonic tapping guitars and indie and folk-like melodies, it was not until seeing the band open for another favorite of mine, Tera Melos, in San Fransisco last week that I realized that the core of the band is their fantastic drummer, who plays with amazing, Zach Hill-esque technicality all while playing mallot parts for most of the songs. He is the backdrop for this very percussive band. This is a must-have for fans of both math-rock, indie, and psych-folk alike.
Bump |
| 3.5 great | mttgry | August 5th 24 |
| 4.5 superb | Skiiddz | September 27th 20 |
| 3.5 great | bmelt | February 26th 19 |
| 4.5 superb | RAGG | December 2nd 17 |
| 3.5 great | NickyP | July 29th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | Ankit | January 23rd 15 |
| 4.0 excellent | tyler | November 19th 14 |
| 4.0 excellent | Veldin | February 20th 14 |
| 4.0 excellent | dobs | April 1st 13 |
| 4.5 superb | seldead | November 25th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | uchida21 | September 25th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | elry2k | September 21st 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | lerem | May 1st 12 |
| 3.5 great | foxxxy | April 22nd 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | LOL poo | April 18th 12 |
| 3.5 great | Trebor. EMERITUS | March 3rd 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | iamnot | February 18th 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Rowdy | February 2nd 12 |
| 4.0 excellent | Kaozz16 | December 19th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Oswig328 | November 13th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | perlox | March 4th 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Enotron | March 2nd 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | eviltime | February 22nd 11 |
| 4.0 excellent | Flowers | February 18th 11 |
| 4.5 superb | frankie | December 26th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | patod92 | December 6th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | benhxc | November 27th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | ZiggyPop | September 9th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | samd779 | August 30th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | jazack | July 20th 10 |
| 4.5 superb | davsoi | July 12th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | Kleur | June 5th 10 |
| 3.0 good | GLN | May 18th 10 |
| 3.5 great | Thef | May 14th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | Jruined | April 28th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | hval91 | April 16th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | Oceanus | March 25th 10 |
| 3.5 great | tuk | March 21st 10 |
| 3.0 good | Iai EMERITUS | March 13th 10 |
| 3.5 great | WolfAmI | February 28th 10 |
| 3.5 great | idbz | January 14th 10 |
| 4.0 excellent | Distile | December 15th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | JoRos | November 15th 09 |
| 4.5 superb | alt | November 9th 09 |
| 5.0 classic | sydrock | October 12th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | Ceziria | October 7th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | Majesty | September 28th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | Downes | September 25th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | Chasta5 | September 4th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | ECRbubs | July 22nd 09 |
| 4.5 superb | Lions | June 23rd 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | feav233 | April 27th 09 |
| 3.5 great | Tater | February 18th 09 |
| 4.0 excellent | kingsoby1 EMERITUS | December 2nd 08 |
| 3.5 great | dukes | October 27th 08 |
| 4.5 superb | JordanS | October 15th 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | dieto | August 31st 08 |
| 3.5 great | Kiran EMERITUS | August 23rd 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | Bea | August 11th 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | Msuen | July 16th 08 |
| 4.5 superb | natey | April 22nd 08 |
| 3.5 great | John L | March 30th 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | P13 | March 26th 08 |
| 4.0 excellent | Stuff | February 25th 08 |
| 4.5 superb | donovr | February 12th 08 |
| 4.5 superb | UBIK | January 7th 08 |
| 4.5 superb | Kyle | December 20th 07 |
| 4.0 excellent | kreftron | November 28th 07 |
| 4.5 superb | astrel | November 5th 07 |
| 4.0 excellent | yohnav | October 31st 07 |
| 3.0 good | tuff | October 30th 07 |
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