Maps & Atlases

Chicago quartet Maps & Atlases serves up loose, bluesy pop tunes set against technically stringent arrangements. Their melodies are a bit off-kilter, sometimes stringing repetitive vocal lines together, sometimes splashing with unexpected drumbeats from Texas-born Chris Hainey. Singer Dave Davison's voice is crowing and languid — think Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio — and both he and Erin Elders are widely considered to be guitar virtuosos; both keep their complex rhythms by finger-tapping their frets as their dueling parts wind around each other. The band is touring in support of its first full-length, Perch Patchwork, released last month on Barsuk.
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Erin K. Thomson