Listen to Maps and Atlases - Perch Patchwork

Time to introduce some new music to the mix.  I was thinking about a new band I recently discovered called Man at Arms whose record I picked up at random in the Amoeba dollar bin about three months ago.  These guys are loud, raw and unpredictable with lyrics about time travel and primordial swamps.  It's pretty sweet.

Sticking with my rule of NOT including previously found music on this site, I decided to use them as a starting point.  I went to their record label's (Joyful Noise Recordings) website to check out what other bands they had to offer.  I started browsing the catalog of bands and came across this album by Maps & Atlases. 

After a little more research, it turns out they're actually on a new label, Barsuk Records.  I know Barsuk well due to the fact they've also signed one of my all time favorite bands, Menomena.*  Maps & Atlases have most (if not all) of this album available to listen to on their Myspace Page.  Check 'em out.  They're even currently on tour (opening up for Menomena, in fact) spending February in the Midwest and most of March down south in Louisiana and Texas. 

I realize record labels don't always stick to one type of band, but in this case I'm not surprised to learn that Maps & Atlases are no longer on Joyful Noise Recordings.  They sound nothing like Man at Arms.  Maps is cleaner and would fit comfortably in most silverlake hipsters' record collections.

*I picked up Menomena's Friend and Foe record at random (at full price, too) in Amoeba a long time ago.  That same day I bought The Long Winters album When I Pretend to Fall which is also a  fantastic album.  It wasn't until later that I realized The Long Winters is ALSO on Barsuk Records.