LEAVING YOUR BODY MAP

Some bands like to recreate certain genres of music. Others like to push forward, or develop into a whole new musical genre, one that is hard to explain but fresh and exciting to the ears and to the mind. Maudlin of the Well fit into this latter category and have certainly crafted a masterpiece album with 'Leaving Your Body Map.'

The music that motW (as I will now call them) make is somewhat an amalgamation of certain other genres, but never too derivative, thus making their sound very unique. The band fuse free-jazz elements, progressive metal, indie rock, chamber rock/metal, and various avant-garde stylings. Toby Driver (guitar, vocals, bass) claims that the band grab certain parts of their music (ie: inspiration [as I interpret it]) from the practice of astral project and/or lucid dreaming. This, though it may not be entirely true, seems very accurate as the music has such an otherworldly sound: the atmospheres, the instrumentation, the vocals The music is very harsh at times, with screaming vocals, distorted and dissonant guitar playing, double bass drums with a mixture of viola, flute, and trumpet. The premiere brutal tracks are likely, "Gleam in Ranks," "A Curve that to an Angle Turn'd," and "Riseth He, The Numberless 1." In stark contrast to such a crushing side, motW also have an ethereal and atmospheric soft side on this certain album. Non-distorted, echoey guitar, soft drums and a audible bass add contribute to this softer side. This side of motW's music is beautiful and is well-executed in tracks like "Interlude (3 & 4)," "Sleep is a Curse," and the majority of "Monstrously Low Tide." Toby Driver's singing is sublime in these soft parts and his voice just carries the listener away. Even when the vocals are growling, they can even be pleasant because the vocals don't really fluctuate; it's almost like someone distorted the vocals, but to where they're not irritating or grating to the ears. It's hard to explain and much easier to be able to listen and hear exactly how the vocals sound.

There are never any flat spots to this album. Each note, each sound, each vocal moment is precise and fitting. Some tracks can take surprising twists, which is partly why I rate this album so highly. For example: the fast, jazzy-guitar solo in "Bizarre Flowers/ A Violent Mist" and the soft, moody middle section of 'A Curve that to an Angle Turn'd." These sudden and unexpected changes give the album a progressive and very eclectic feel, and it's easy to tell that motW are very passionate and serious about the music they make.

All-in-all, a perfect album. It takes more than a few listens to really grasp the music (and it's not for everyone), but when that happens, only then will the listener truly appreciate the genius of such a work of modern musical art.

5 STARS.

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