They’ve done it again. Beware and Be Grateful, the most recent LP by indie-rock quartet Maps & Atlases, is set to release in the U.S. Tuesday, April 17, and affirms the group’s unparalleled musical creativity. Map & Atlases’ unique sound has evolved with each album they have put out, but Beware and Be Grateful may mark their most significant leap to date.
After recording several EPs, most notably Tree, Swallows, Houses (2006), followed by You and Me and the Mountain (2008), Maps & Atlases released their first full-length album, Perch Patchwork, in 2010. While the musicianship in all of their work is captivating, it’s hard to believe how much Maps & Atlases have changed stylistically over the years. The band was conceived in Chicago by Dave Davison (lead guitars/vocals), Shiraz Dada (bass), Chris Hainey (drums) and Erin Elders (guitar), in an attempt to mesh technical instrumentation with folk-rock.
This was obvious in Maps & Atlases’ early work, which revolved around elaborate guitar tapping melodies and polyrhythmic feels, mixed with Davison’s nasally, oh-so-folky voice. With Perch Patchwork however, the band began to move away from their intentionally complicated riffing to a more layered sound. The album’s title track ends with Davison looping his voice over itself, sort of like in Bon Iver’s earthy track “Woods.” Maps & Atlases’ sound has become so thick and textured: Even after listening to Perch Patchwork for two years I still hear something new almost every time.
There are countless aspects to Beware and Be Grateful that exemplify Maps & Atlases’ maturation as a group. The most obvious is their continuation towards using layers of sound, instead of playing as many notes as possible. One of the most interesting ways Maps & Atlases accomplished this layering was by using electronic elements like programmed beats and synthesized sounds. This was something they hadn’t experimented with extensively, but incorporated seamlessly into the album without compromising their organic feel. Additionally, they use piano for the first time to create a more diverse texture. “Important,” the final song of the album, features an ethereal piano part that adds to the tune’s dreamy nature.
Maps & Atlases didn’t entirely abandon their melodic complexity though. More so, the difficult instrumental parts have become a nuance rather than the focus of their music. Maybe the best example of this is in the song “Silver Self,” in which Davison reminds us that he’s one of the most talented guitarists around. The song ends with Davison taking an extended solo unlike anything else he has done with Maps & Atlases. Davison, who traditionally sticks to a cleaner tone in order to make his parts discernible, uses heavy distortion that sounds like it came straight from the amp of Jack White, and then all out shreds for about two minutes straight. Even though the technical lines of past Maps & Atlases albums are not in every song, they still exist in Beware and Be Grateful. In fact, they have just been refined.
Possibly the most significant aspect about Beware and Be Grateful is that it manages to be simultaneously musically stimulating and accessible. There are very few groups that have bridged this always-daunting gap as well as Maps & Atlases. With this album, it’s fair to put Maps & Atlases on the same level as the likes of Battles, The Dirty Projectors and Fleet Foxes, who also know the secret to creating music that is both compelling and easy to listen to. After listening through the album several times, I highly recommend checking out Maps & Atlases newest work. Beware and Be Grateful is an album that you will not get tired of. In fact, with so much layering, this album will get better every time you listen to it.
Grade: A-
