The Maps-We Can Create-Record Review for UR Chicago Magazine

In a time where countless generic indie bands dabble in electro-dilettantism, Northampton’s Maps rise above the swill, crafting their debut LP We Can Create (Mute) on a 16 track home recorder without the aide of a single computer. Born from James Chapman’s years of bedroom tinkering, Maps blend the best of drone psyche à la Spiritualized or La Monte Young with organic samples harkening back to the exciting pre-digital spirit of French musique concrete. Opener “So Low, So High” builds a sample of Mark Witz’s easy listening opus, “From a Teenage Opera,” into a shoegaze soundscape worthy of My Bloody Valentine. “It Will Find You” seamlessly morphs a beat reminiscent of the golden era South Bronx into Radioheadesque melancholia. All these influences could easily lead to one manic pile of mess, but it’s the time these songs spent germinating that produce a finished product aged like fine vintage wine.