Mr Maps - Mimicry ofLines and Light (EP)

Mon 22nd Jun, 2009 in Music Reviews

(Lofly Records)

Brisbane instrumental experimenters, Mr. Maps, had this fetching idea for their EP, Mimicry of Lines and Light. Not one, but two discs, and not just a conglomerate meeting of sounds, but an actual mimicry. Disc number one is Lines, and is part semi-droning, atonal collage, part driving melodies and riffs, and part what-the-hell-is-that? It’s delightfully unexpected, but still possesses intensity to its sound, with an appropriate lyrical piano that pops its head up every so often. As a former student of music, it is tempting to analyse the interwoven elements that make this record a pleasure to listen to. But the beauty of it comes from its sincerity. There is a structure to the chaos and ever-changing moods, all of which are conveyed to the listener with much ease. The third track, ‘Til the Money Outruns Us is a playful change to its predecessor, This Mess is a Place.

The second disc, Light, presents a distorted reflection of the songs in Lines. It was hurled out in the QUT recording studios, unlike the first disc, whose sound was carefully created in Mt. Cotton. Coming second, it doesn’t possess the charm of the first disc, despite incorporating a heavier tribal beat to This Mess is a Place. With an echo of the motifs in its counterpart, Light sometimes lacks subtlety. It also doesn’t quite capture the climactic element of the final track, I See Them, They’re Like Mountains. The thing with this EP is that it’s not really two discs, it’s one that is standing next to a funhouse mirror.

Mr. Maps clearly has the vision, craft and inimitability to propel ahead as formidable local talent. Listen and love.