MAPS / It Hugs Back / arc vel
‘MAPS is James Chapman.
MAPS is alternative/electronica/indie.
MAPS live is James and August.
MAPS is currently playing shows around the U.K.
MAPS new album is called Turning The Mind.
MAPS new single is called I Dream Of Crystal and is available September 14th.
MAPS says keep as happy as you can and as hopeful as you can.’
It Hugs Backhave received praise from all corners, including NME (“Kent could soon produce it’s very own Bright Eyes”) as well as eccstatic support from Xfm for their demos. Their youthfulness is showcased through the beautifully naive music they perform. Hushed vocal melodies and jangling, Wilco-esque guitars combine to astonishing effect. Matthew, Paul, Dimitri & Jack began making their soft-centered dream pop back in early 2006. Switching between joyous pop-punk delight and delicate melancholia in a heartbeat, It Hugs Back melt layers of fuzzy vocals and guitars into their reassuring blend of endearing shoegaze and heart-on-sleeves vulnerability.
Yes, some, perhaps many, of the ideas are attributable to genres such as Drum ‘n’ Bass and the ubiquitous (and essentially meaningless) IDM. However, unlike the majority of musicians arc vel borrows not because of a lack of creativity (the breadth of his musical references in this piece alone – from pastoral European Classical to the aforementioned Indonesian gamelan sounds – is enough to dispell that notion) but due to an abundance of it; such recognisable references allow him to eloquently present his own unfamiliar ideas.
