The new album from Maps, Colours. Reflect. Time. Loss, out now via Mute, is a largely successful attempt to do more with less. Wonderfully basic, and, at times, nearly euphoric, this newest album from Maps (James Chapman) features a handful of what are likely some of the Brit artist's best tunes to date.
The percolating "Both Sides" is a bright synth-pop stunner, the sort of thing that bears the faintest trace of New Order about it, while the even better "Just Reflecting" finds Chapman using a Glass-like rippling wave keyboard pattern to anchor his warm vocals for a cut that feels intimate and panoramic at the same time. "Surveil" and "Wildfire" have a lot of sonic depth about them, the vocals from Chapman and his contributors echoing off into the void, the synth patterns carrying these tunes forward on layers of glistening keyboards. The overall effect here is like those best O.M.D. singles where each piece of the song seems to emerge fully-formed with the press of a button. Lots of what's on Colours. Reflect. Time. Loss is lush music, even if James Chapman favors a nearly-minimalist approach throughout the record. In that sense, he joins pioneers like The Blue Nile and Gary Numan in the category of artists who can evoke quite a lot with just a few elements. For the songs without a big hook behind them, things occasionally get unmoored and aimless ("Sophia", "She Sang To Me"), but on a more considered number, like the precise "New Star", Chapman seems to be adding each little piece of the sonic landscape the way a careful chef adds in spices during the final moments of a dish's preparation. When it works, Chapman's approach renders the music of Maps something special and elegant, and he succeeds for most of the length of Colours. Reflect. Time. Loss.
Colours. Reflect. Time. Loss is out now via Mute.
More details on Maps via the official Facebook page, or the official website.
[Photo: Phil Sharp]