Maps and Atlases

"Fever" MP3
from the album Beware and Be Grateful
2012
iTunes

BY JASON VANOVER | Jonk Music In an age when the overall idea of music is as much about the sound as it is the overall artistic experience, creating a simplistically engaging yet visually enticing song is almost as difficult as it is rare. This is not to say that the marriage of the two never happens. Instead it simply reflects upon the idea that it's an entirely different beast to make a piece of music that blends together the subtle nuances with the overt sounds that initially draw us in. Likened to that of a fine glass of aged merlot, however, it's the refined undertones to a tune that make the overall product something music lovers will inevitably flock to.

If nothing else, Maps & Atlases' "Fever" is just that: A sophisticated, hook-driven anthem that delivers on a number of intricately woven layers. As hauntingly colorful as it is bleak, "Fever" manages to reach that rare plateau in music when a song somehow ties together the quiet with the atmospheric. And as it tends to be when two opposites somehow find one another, the end result is nothing short of a beautiful circumstance.

With eloquent harmonies and smoothly melodic shifts, Dave Davidson's vocals give off that whiskey-croon vibe that is as delightful as it is gritty. With a sharp and steady guitar hook backed by a rhythmically thunderous drum beat, "Fever" helps transform the often-labeled "math rockers" into something entirely void of what is similar. Instead they've managed to carve out a rare sound that encompasses all areas of pop, alt-rock, alternative rock, and yes...math rock.

"And all that you know of this is what you have heard," sings Davidson, only in this case what we've already heard doesn't necessarily reflect what we will ultimately hear going forward. There are moments in a musician's career when a song or album tends to represent that proverbial next step in a band's musical journey going forward. Beware and Be Grateful, and more specifically, "Fever," may just represent that growth that happens to catapult Maps & Atlases into that next realm of rock stardom.

Passion Pit

"I'll Be Alright"
from the album Gossamer
2012
iTunes



BY JASON VANOVER | Jonk Music

In 2010, the music world was somewhat blindsided. The airwaves were flooded with Gaga, TVs littered with Glee, and the state of popular music as a creative medium seemed somewhat in doubt. While it would be foolish to suggest then that one band or artist would eventually come in and save the day, there were a few exceptions to the unwanted rule. Maybe no artist or song fit that bill more than Passion Pit and their then-single "Moth"s Wings." It was featured in movie trailers, soundtracked the opening to Fifa 2010, and landed atop many "best of" lists (including Jonk Music's). But like any track or artist thought to be a flash in the pan, the overplayed nature began to sour a bit, and Passion Pit disappeared into musical oblivion.

In what, however, is surely a welcome return, the resurgence of Passion Pit brings forth a hefty order from both fans and critics alike: Trump the sophomore slump and create and album that can stand next to their previous release, Manners, while being recognized as a worthy counterpart. Easy enough, right? So it's with subjective hope then that most fans will pine at the chance to hear what they have come up with. "I'll Be Alright," the new single off of the their upcoming release, Gossamer, gives the aforementioned fans and critics a chance to see if they have answered that order.

With one listen, it's recognizable in its synth-pop nature, drawing much inspiration from many of the tracks that made Manners the feel good hit that it was — but "Moth's Wings" this is not. To some extent, it's an acquired taste. There is a familiar yet experimental vibe to the song that may get lost on some listeners. It doesn't necessarily sound like anything you've heard before; however, the onus is on the listener to realize that this sort of release is where Passion Pit is able to showcase where their true talent lies.

It's a bit gritty, if not noisy to an extent, though the true allure of "I'll Be Alright" illuminates in part because of this grandiose approach. There is an all-encompassing vibe to the tune: it's big and bright, and it is almost impossible not to dance while the song blares at a fever pitch. This is the kind of song to which the summer enthusiasts will inevitably flock. It's filtered with a feeling of hope, and the intricate layers are bright and airy, almost to a point of outright euphoria. There is a sense of belief embedded within the DNA of "I'll Be Alright," a belief that speaks to the listener as much as it does the men who created it. While the track might not prove to be the smash hit "Moth's Wings" ended up being, we still need songs to blare at the beach, right?

How to Dress Well

"Ocean Floor for Everything" MP3
from the album Total Loss
2012
iTunes

BY JASON VANOVER | Jonk Music

Inherently speaking, music is something that tends to come from these otherwise untapped recourses inside of our creative minds. While being careful not to suggest that some musicians do not have their crafts down to a science, we can recognize that sometimes a song can surprise in its ability to take on a life of its own. However basic and however elemental the surface may appear, sometimes something isn't any more complicated than it is a simplistically beautiful piece of music. On the flip side of that spectrum, though, some music can end up being more than just an attempt at outright artistic expression.

How to Dress Well's "Ocean Floor for Everything," the first track off of the soon-released Total Loss, delivers on many instances of the aforementioned simplicity and unpretentious nature, yet it's in this straightforward approach that the listener is transported into an unassuming world, void of all the eclectic layers previous How to Dress Well tracks have featured. There is an uncomfortable shyness to the overall DNA of the song, a happy agony that is grasping at both sides of the spectrum. If nothing else, this duality supplants itself into the listener, forming a sense of heightened reality that maybe this materiel wasn't necessarily intended for the masses to hear. It's quiet, if even a bit uncomfortable, but it's in this usually uncharted territory that something outright charming lies.

Tom Krell, the force behind the HtDW moniker, is slowly building a musical brand that shares this theme with each release. With both pop and R&B influences throughout, it's ever-apparent that this isn't your typical "throw stuff at a wall and see what sticks" routine implemented by many a musician these days. It's contemporary yet it draws on layers heard in The Isely Brotherses and Earth, Wind & Fires of the past. There is a silent method to the madness that allows someone the ability to create something that is as pleasant to the artistic connoisseur as much as the mainstream.

It's unsettling yet it's hopeful, and that sort of dynamic isn't something that is as easily summoned as say, partying with friends, or being "sexy and I know it." It's bleak, somewhat cold, and it's not hard to imagine that whatever Tom Krell is singing about is incredibly personal, if almost to a fault. In its bleakness, then, there lies an undefined theme that may go unrecognized in even the 100th listen. Whether it's loss, love, a mixture of both, the listener never really lets us in on the secret. At a point, then, we begin to ask ourselves, "does he even know?" But what do some people often say? Sometimes...things are better left unsaid.

Sigur Rós

"Ekki Múkk"
from the album Valtari
2012
iTunes



BY JASON VANOVER | Jonk Music

There tends to be this fantastical world that each of us venture into once we fall sleep at night. Whether it's filled with outlandish anomalies or magical Dragons and Kings, our psyche is often filled with colorful imagery that catapult us into another dimension. Even if only for a little while, this transformation provides an avenue to escape. While the norm then tends to suggest that most musicians represent the antithesis to this very idea, Iceland's own Sigur Rós happens to be just the right archetype for the imagined soundtrack that plays in our dreaming minds.

Ever since the late '90s, Sigur Rós has veered into otherwise uncharted territory in terms of their overall sound and success. Generally speaking, no other artist has carved out a niché entry into what is both popular and unique, yet all the while remaining true to the sound that's earned them worldwide acclaim. From their understated live motion picture release, Inni, to their frequent appearances on some of Hollywood's biggest soundtracks, Sigur Rós has remained stedfast in their campaign to prove that what is different isn't always unfamiliar. And moreover, what may at first seem to be typical might just prove to be something entirely different altogether.

Enter: "Ekki Múkk," The first single off of the band's sixth studio album, Valtari. The ambitious nature of their previous work is present here as the slow-building, grandiose anthem represents the kind of spectacle the foursome has, in time, mastered. This is Sigur Rós, after all — perhaps, and not accidentally, the only band that delivers a sound reminiscent to that of a hollow radio frequency. Yet so beautifully crafted is the vacant noise, we recognize something completely comforting in the hauntingly joyful material.

It's more atmosphere than it is song, and in this case, that is a good thing. As the crackling beat mixes itself into the unsettling whisper of an unidentified voice, it somehow blends together in a whimsical perfection. At times, it feels as though this song was not simply created by four men in a studio somewhere, but rather a spirit who's searching for its voice along a lost and lonely highway. In a sense, agonizing hope tends to infiltrate the entire framework that is, "Ekki Múkk." Liken to that of the "Glósóli" and "Gobbledigook" releases of the past, "Ekki Múkk" sends listeners into a world that doesn't even outright exist, yet it's familiar enough that we are able to get lost along the way just as the vibe of the song suggests.

As a whole, Valtari may just be the most important release the band has put out to date. It's gritty yet crisp, and there are no significant lapses worthy of a mention. Music today has lost its eagerness to move forward, and instead most rely on the idea that what is recognizable is more than suitable. The aforementioned spirit who was looking for its voice may have just found a suitable companion in Sigur Rós. If nothing else, "Ekki Múkk" represents the idea that there is at least someone out there who cares about our dreams.