They are an incredibly talented quartet from The Windy City that features pulsating drums, uniquely rhythmic guitars and a funky bass accented by the vocals from guitarist Dave Davison that a good friend of mine described to me once as,"sounding like the closest thing to a saxophone that I've ever seen and I've ever heard" when Maps & Atlases opened for California's insane prog-rockers RX Bandits during the band's final tour at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA this past August. That being said, this band is beyond your typical math/indie/progressive rock sound with their second album, Beware And Be Grateful.

Other than Davison's sax-esque vocals and otherworldly guitar playing, Maps & Atlases consist of Shiraz Dada plucking the bass, Erin Elders on the dueling guitar and Chris Hainey picking up sticks and slamming them on the drums, rounding out a beautiful sound that you won't hear from any other band. The group came together while all four musicians were attending Columbia College Chicago in the fall of 2004 and they haven't looked back, continuously touring and sharing the stage with acts like Minus The Bear, Ra Ra Riot, The Fall of Troy, mewithoutYou, Foals, Portugal. The Man and many others. 

"Vampires" is a rocking track that reminds me of 70s rock bands like T. Rex and Television, with pounding drums and systematic guitars that even will make the most pretentious headbanger start going crazy. "Silver Self" features a choir-like introduction with all the band members voices syncopating perfectly, then going into a series of dance beats and ending with a brain-fizzing guitar solo that will leave you astonished. "Fever", for lack of a better word, is feverishly amazing and definitely seems like it has what it takes be an underground hit. "Old And Gray" has a new wave tinge to it, sounding as if Tears For Fears would have written a similar song without the guitars and sticking strictly to the beats. "Winter" is a great example of how Davison's and Elder's guitar technique can be so complex and simple at the same time, with such speed and precision that will blow your mind. As I always exclaim, don't take my opinion as gospel, log off after your reading, grab a copy of the album and decide for yourself.

Currently, Maps & Atlases are about to embark a 12-date European tour of The United Kingdom, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and France starting at Cooler in Bristol, England on April 16th and ending at Fleche D'or in Paris on April 28th. A few weeks later they'll be back in the good ol' U.S. of A starting with their homecoming show at Metro in Chicago on May 11th and ending the 33-date tour at Amsterdam Hall in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 19th. For live music fans in 990WBOB's neck of the woods in New England, Maps & Atlases will be back at The Middle East on May 18th. Until then, hit up your local record store or surf the internet and pick up Beware And Be Grateful, the new album from Maps & Atlases. It'll be a purchase you won't want to pass up.

So what does Jung un have to do to get some respect in his own dictatorship, for chrissakes? He COULD massacre some civvies or some other inhumane act. But like we established, he's got a soft spot for the peasants. Or he can tell the rest of the world to shove it and launch his new toy.  

The North Koreans have been doing this crazy shit for years! They set off atomic blasts underground. They leveled villages and starved their people to death just to show off their military balls. This is how they do it. They rattle their sabers, the UN "warns" them (begs) not to do it, they do it, the UN says "hey, that wasn't very nice", and NK laughs at the rest of the world. That's the difference between them and most of the rest of the world. Lots of leaders like to talk up a storm, promising blood and death, or worse SANTCTIONS AND RESOLUTIONS!! Ooh, scary! And nothing ever happens. Quadaffi was known for this for decades. The NKs on the other hand tell you they're going to do something, then do it. 

The Toronto music scene has produced a plethora of  fantastic musical acts over the past decade or so with Broken Social Scene, Feist, Metric, Bedouin Soundclash, MSTRKRFT, Death From Above 1979, F***ed Up, The Beauties, Crystal Castles, The New Deal and Woodhands just to name a few. Let's not forget that Toronto has also been the home of prog-rock legends Rush since the late 1960s. These collection of bands make the place known as "The Queen City" the king of burgeoning and creative music in Canada. With their debut self titled album, Eight And A Half is about to join the "court" of musical talent erupting from Toronto like a rhythmic volcano over a plain of harmonic greatness.

Consisting of Broken Social Scene's Justin Peroff on guitar and vocals along with Dave Hamelin and Liam O'Neil of former Montreal band The Stills respectively on drums and keyboards, the band formed after The Stills broke up following a tour with Kings of Leon and Broken Social Scene went on hiatus after doing a tour with TV On The Radio last year. The album features a folktronic sound that meshes together synth beats and keys along with acoustic guitar chords that remind me of acts like The Beta Band, except with an indie/new wave style.

"Scissors" begins with a simple guitar riff that gets overwhelmed by synths and loops, accented by keyboard notes that make you feel like you're in a scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The most uniquely produced track on the album, "Go Ego" features looping guitar chords, groovy beats and Peroff's soft, stylish voice that will get you rockin' in no time. If you are looking for a track that will make you dance, "Two Points" will do that in no time with feverish drumming complimented by ambient notes and randomly placed riffs that will make you shuffle your feet. "Walked Into Diazepene" is a spacey track that utilizes complex drums, psychedelic loops and Peroff's voice exclaiming the feeling of being apart from your own self under the influence of psychoactive drugs. As I always say, don't take my opinion as gospel, grab a copy of the record and listen in for yourself.

As of right now, Eight And A Half have three shows coming up in Canada next month at The Starlight Room in Waterloo, Ontario on May 1st, The Casbah in Hamilton, Ontario on May 2nd and Il Motore in Montreal on May 3rd, but be sure they'll be in your neck of the woods before the alleged apocalypse during the end of 2012. Until then, be patient and do yourself a favor, get a copy of Eight And A Half's new album and experience some amazing music by one of the best new bands from Toronto. It'll make your ears and mind feel as if they were taken to another world filled with audial ecstasy.