Review: Maps’ Turning the Mind

Maps‘ sophomore album Turning the Mind comes to us in a dreamy, hypnotic fashion similar to his debut, We Can Create. James Chapman, helmsman of the project, comes to us with musical guns a-blazing and we are ready to take him on – but after listening and trying to digest the material, we feel that we may have missed out on the message he is trying to present.

Check out our review below…

Turning the Mind provides decent mood music, doing a fine job at establishing and maintaining an ambiance that is at once hip and edgy. The musical compositions and lyrics don’t seem to match one another leading somewhat to a detached, uninvolved experience. But every note has its purpose – on the whole, its constant streaming would fit well piped through the speakers of an art gallery or the nearest H&M. Its use of dreamy effects and tendency to veer into the interlude would effectively fill a commercial space that would otherwise scare and confuse.

While the punch to keep things interesting is not as present as it should be, there are a few gems that surround the album, one of which being “Chemeleon”, a swirling track laden in synths – a favorite when it comes to innovation – and interjected with spoken self-help reasoning. While well aware that it takes a great deal of effort to make new of what’s been used so many times, we appreciate any effort. We just wish we felt it harder. That, and – perhaps it’s just us – but the lyrics throughout the album in its entirety seem to be covered in a slight layer of cocaine dust. But really, that may just be us.

Turning the Mind is available on Mute Records.

Tracklist

1. Turning The Mind
2. I Dream Of Crystal
3. Let Go Of The Fear
4. Valium In The Sunshine
5. Papercuts
6. Love Will Come
7. Everything Is Shattering
8. Nothing
9. The Note (These Voices)
10. Chemeleon
11. Die Happy Die Smiling
12. Without You