MAPS OF NON-EXISTENT PLACES

Two things stand out to me when listening to Thank you Scientist's album Maps of Non-Existent Places: first, the musicianship. One doesn't need to listen for very long to notice how carefully the songs were constructed and orchestrated among the traditional rock instruments and the saxaphone, trumpet, violin players. With virtuostic playing from all members, each track just oozes with fantastic playing. Second, the insatiable melodies in every song. I agree with another reviewer in that this band clearly wants people to listen to them. The melodies easily rival any guilty pleasure you would hear on a pop radio station. As far as the proggy-elements, for me it comes down to their playing. The playing is seems extremely technical without ever sounding uninspired. Many of the harmonies are jazz- influences (I believe the guitar player studied jazz), not unlike what you might hear from Steely Dan or Frank Zappa. So, imagine a jazz orchestra playing over down-tuned guitars, and you get a pretty good idea of what they sound like. I say this just to give you an idea, though, not by any means to put too much of a label on them. Truly all songs are fantastic, but I want to specifically mention "Absentee." When listening to the album for the first time, I remember the relief in the song, Absentee, with its relatively austere arrangement, at least to start. I thought, "Wow they can actually pull back and have a nice moment to breathe." The song really made Thank You Scientist stand out from other bands that are obviously great players, but never decide to bring it down a notch. Another stand out moment for me is the beginning of the guitar solo toward the end of "Blood on the Radio"; that has to one of the best openings to a solo I have ever heard. I can't imagine someone feeling disappointed by this album. Do yourself a favor and at least check them out on Spotify or something. They recently signed on Evil Ink, Claudio Sanchez's label, which I hope bodes well for their future.