Mr. Maps

Mr. Maps – ‘Your Heels in Sand, Soul in Pursuit’ (Lines version)

Mr. Maps is a band borne of precision and practice. The songs that form the group’s debut EP were originally guitarist Chris Perren’s honours degree submission, a product of hundreds of hours worth of recording, editing and programming. When Perren assembled a band to play the songs to punters in small venues across Brisbane, he and his fellow musicians found that collaboration had changed and energised the songs enough to warrant a fresh recording.

The group’s debut EP, Mimicry of Lines and Light, is a double-disc showcase of Perren’s compositions, first in their shiny master-planned glory and then roughed up a little by the idiosyncracies of live performance. It sounds a tad self-indulgent and perhaps it is, but if you appreciate music which somehow manages to tell stories using details, layers and everything except vocals, you’ll appreciate this.

I was at Mr. Maps’ first gig at Brisbane’s infamous Lofly Hangar in mid-2008 and I am quietly ashamed that it has taken me this long to put a post up about them. They are truly special.

www.myspace.com/mistermaps