The members of
Maps & Atlases -- Chris Hainey, Shiraz Dada, David Davison, and Erin Elders -- are driven by the angular percussion patterns of their music on their 17-and-a-half-minute, five-song EP,
You and Me and the Mountain. Reminiscent of the abrupt rhythms of early
Devo,
Maps & Atlases play up the furious drumming and odd percussion, all of it high in the mix, de-emphasizing their yelped, high-pitched vocals. Even the non-percussion instruments tend toward rhythmic pulses instead of melodic playing. The result is a batch of rough-hewn, nervous-sounding tracks, appropriate for twitchy, robotic dancing. ~ William Ruhlmann