Maps & Atlases opened for Ra Ra Riot at Cat's Cradle (9/30/09). But it should have been the other way around. Of course I love Ra Ra Riot--no one does upbeat and somber at the same time like them. And Alexandra Lawn basically making love to her cello on stage is definitely a plus (may or may not have a girl crush). But Chicago's Maps & Atlases blew them away.
The band has come a long way since Trees, Swallows, Houses (2006). Their songs have experimented with complex rhythms, and in previous albums, they throw a lot of different ideas around. But in their recent album, You and Me and the Mountain (2008), these ideas have developed into a more cohesive and together sound that just... works. And so did lead singer David Davison's unruly facial hair at Cat's Cradle. (Wish I snapped a pic of that, but all I got was Ra Ra Riot's Wes Miles, above). I'm still puzzled as to where the sound was coming from and how it made it through his beard to the mic. But it made it. And oh, how it made it. I can only describe their music one way: pure. musical. geniusry.
The band has come a long way since Trees, Swallows, Houses (2006). Their songs have experimented with complex rhythms, and in previous albums, they throw a lot of different ideas around. But in their recent album, You and Me and the Mountain (2008), these ideas have developed into a more cohesive and together sound that just... works. And so did lead singer David Davison's unruly facial hair at Cat's Cradle. (Wish I snapped a pic of that, but all I got was Ra Ra Riot's Wes Miles, above). I'm still puzzled as to where the sound was coming from and how it made it through his beard to the mic. But it made it. And oh, how it made it. I can only describe their music one way: pure. musical. geniusry.
