Tom Lynch

The first word that comes to mind when attempting to describe local band Maps & Atlases: complicated. Spastic rhythms and anti-rhythms assault with both a math-rock and lo-fi pop foundation, while the vocals--with lyrics apparently jammed together, seemingly in an Exquisite Corpse method (which only adds to the aural confusion)--surf a giant wave of pin-prick guitar lines and slaughterhouse drums. Overwhelming to say the least, this isn't exactly a band that will put you to sleep, but is certainly one to experience live, just to see how the foursome pulls off such musical complexity. The band officially releases its new EP, "Trees, Swallows, Houses," this Saturday at the Beat Kitchen.

"I think that we're all really into kind of technical stuff," says Dave Davison, vocalist and guitarist, of the members' musical influences. "We all like Hella and stuff like that. We were always into all kinds of folk music, though. I think that when we did the stuff on this EP, it really was the first time ever that we were able to pull all of our interests in songwriting. A lot of the songs originated as folk songs, and we were able to sort of make that work together."

Experimentation must be at an all-time high--especially if the band's songs originated as folk numbers--since the end result, I'm willing to bet, is nothing like how the song was first introduced. The intricately woven dual guitar work cripples the listener with its precision, and the virtual absence of distortion makes the feat that much more appreciated, as the notes are as clear as day.

"Me and Erin [Elders], we come up with ideas for songs and spend a lot of time writing different drafts of ideas we have," says Davison. "Then we introduce the ideas to the band, see what directions it goes in. We were really just into paying attention to the technical stuff, we were never gonna be a band that was gonna be like, `Let's see how wild we can make this.'"

Maps & Atlases plays February 25 at Beat Kitchen, 2100 West Belmont, (773)281-4444, at 6pm. $7.

(2006-02-21)

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