TREE, SWALLOW, HOUSES

Maps & Atlases' debut EP "Tree, Swallow, Houses" is one of the few so-called *math rock* albums that I really enjoy along with the Slint masterpiece "Spiderland," Hella's debut "Hold Your Horses," and Minus the Bear's "They Make Bear Commercials like This." Hella's sound is an extremely obvious reference point to Maps & Atlases' music; to some extent, "Tree, Swallow, Houses" sounds like a Hella album with vocals recorded on top. But that doesn't mean that Maps & Atlases are necessarily *ripping-off* the tapped-guitars-meets-in-your-face-drums style that Spencer Seim and Zach Hill arguably invented--they're just expanding it. Maps & Atlases' songs are more tuneful than Hella's (mostly due to the vocals of Dave Davison) and many of the rhythmic changes in Maps & Atlases' songs are more metronomic and slightly less *jarring* than those present in Hella's music. In this sense, Maps & Atlases is a more accessible band than Hella and Don Caballero, but their music is still off-putting to those who do not typically listen to math rock. GRADE: B+ (89%)