Recently, Dave and I got a chance to sit down with Chicago’s Maps And Atlases after their show at the Black Cat with Nurses and Rahim. I started by asking about the noticeable change in sound from their first EP Trees, Swallows, Houses to their new one You And Me And The Mountain, guitarist/vocalist Dave Davison and bassist Shiraz Dada agreed in saying that “doing the first EP had helped [the band] realize which elements [they] wanted to focus on.”

Although the band has released two EPs since their conception in 2004, they have yet to release a full length. When we asked them about that decision, drummer Chris Hainey told us that the band was happy with their decision, noting heavy touring and their always changing sound as reasons why a full length might have felt rushed and ultimately not as solid as another EP.

The band made their start after meeting at Colombia College in Chicago and grew up in a music scene that Davison described as “intensely local” because of the bonds that certain bands share despite contrasting musical styles. The eclectic mix of music coming from Chicago is certainly represented in the band’s unique combination of highly technical instrumentation and bouncy pop melodies. Dada cited Television as a big influence while Davison named David Bowie and The Talking Heads. The band even tackled some more profound questions, particularly when Dave asked about the internet and its effect on music. Davison found merit in the ability for new bands to have their music accessible to anyone in the world and also mentioning that the band never got their cliché “big break” and that the internet allowed them to gain popularity and made their plans to be a full time band a reality. Dada agreed in saying that, “this show wouldn’t have happened fifteen years ago,” thanks to exposure from things like the internet. The two agreed on the fact that the internet has accelerated the development of new music and made it harder for one single band to “rule for ten years.”

As for the age-old question “2pac or Biggie?,” the two remained split.  In addition to being great musicians, the members of the band were truly a funny, sincere and intelligent bunch of guys and I can’t wait to see them again in D.C. Check out Maps & Atlases new EP You And Me And The Mountain on Sargent House Records and check them out if they ever come to your neck of the woods.

From You And Me And The Mountain:

mp3: “Ted Zancha”

From Trees, Swallows Houses:

mp3: “Every Place Is A House”

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