Maps & Atlases

Abraham Lincoln once said, "I'm a slow walker, but I never walk back." The same holds true for fellow sons of the Prairie State, Maps & Atlases, who, despite a flurry of activity since their inception in 2006 are only now releasing their full-length debut. But it's been worth the wait: Not only is Perch Patchwork the Chicago quartet's first long player, it's also their first masterpiece —a beautiful suite of songs that should rightly place the band in indie rock's upper echelon. Where the band's previous EPs (2006's Tree, Swallows, Houses and 2008's You and Me and the Mountain) employed an arid, live sound, Perch Patchwork is a decidedly more humid affair. Though You and Me and The Mountain incorporated more acoustic instruments into the mix, Perch Patchwork finds Maps & Atlases filling their newfound space with strings, horns, assorted percussion, and a variety of toy instruments.