speed of dark

Time Travel Tuesday is on hiatus this week so I can get into some of the great new music that is bulging my e-mail box.

The Maps

James Chapman of the Maps
The sizzle of "It Will Find You" by Northhampton's the Maps will hold you spellbound. This is HOT. Songwriter and creative force James Chapman crafts a set of gorgeous and intelligent tunes on this brilliant full-length debut. Mercury has apparently has it on their short list for album of the year. Yes, the Maps are on tour too, through September and October in Europe, the U.S., and Britain.

From We Can Create (2007):
The Maps: It Will Find You
The Maps: Elouise
MySpace | Label: Mute Records
Buy direct from the Maps' MySpace or from Amazon and iTunes

U.S. Show Schedule:
Sep 21 2007 - Seattle Radio Station @ KEXP, Seattle, WA
Sep 21 2007 - Crocodile Café (KEXP Benefit), Seattle, WA
Sep 23 2007 - Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA
Sep 26 2007 - Spaceland, Los Angeles, CA
Sep 28 2007 - Mercury Lounge, New York, NY
Sep 29 2007 - Lava Lounge, Brooklyn, NY


The Mabuses

Some of the many Mabuses?
Here are some guys--and gals--who have been getting together every few years since 1991 to make music while apparently intending to stay mysterious individually. Their flashy website contains cryptic notecards on a vast assembly of pseudo-characters with fuzzy photos. They have assembled their third record, Mabused, which is described as "a sprawling quirk-pop masterwork," which recalls a variety of influences from XTC to Canned Heat to Folk Implosion.

The band bios may be silly, but the music is delightful, jaunty, and obviously the work of people who know exactly what they're doing.

From Mabused, out on Sept. 25:
The Mabuses: Mirth
The Mabuses: Seasider
MySpace | Website


Manatella


Manatella
Lauren Chase and Alissa Leonard provide the engaging songwriting and lovely voices of Manatella, which seems influenced by the same forces that generated Mazzy Star, the Nethers, and the Owls, all favorites of mine. I am in love with these folk-influenced guitars, the lightness of "Apocalyptic Owl" and the somber mood of "Cherry Red." I must have more.

From their debut album just released August 24, Fashionable Neighborhood:
Manatella: Apocalyptic Owl
Manatella: Cherry Red
MySpace | Website | Label: Carlydog Records | Album stream

Show Schedule:
Sep 5 2007 - Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville, FL
Sep 15 2007 - Jack Rabbits, Jacksonville, FL


More new stuff soon!