Although it’s unclear what it actually means, the Mercury Prize nominations included a real gem of an album with the debut record by Maps. Here is an album which sounds minty fresh as soon as the first track begins. Although it’s possible to hear shades of Danish “dream rockers” Mew or even The Secret Machines, ‘We Can Create’ is a delightfully unique record which is often quite beautiful in parts.
Remarkably given the multi-layered sound he has produced, Maps is the work of one person: James Chapman. One of his masterstrokes is the ghostly vocal effects he produces, another is the elaborate synth washes, the third and most important is the cracking songs. The denouement to third track ‘Elouise’ is the sugar rush in full effect but in truth the first three tracks are pretty flawless. Slightly disappointingly there’s a lull at the middle of the record as the attempt to sound glacial and blissful ends up sounding too much like Sigur Ros. Chapman actually works best when he produces strange and wonderful pop music like on ‘Lost My Soul’ or ‘Don’t Hear’. Infact if everything was as good as the first three and the last three tracks this would be a contender for album of the year. Nevertheless it’s still a great record.
Web sites:
Official Maps Site
Maps Myspace Site
Reference Points:
0 Responses to “Review: Maps - We Can Create”