I hadn’t heard Maps & Atlases until I received a tweet from my sister a day ago praising this song as “a barn party of Bon Iver, Toro Y Moi, Fleet Foxes, and New Villager”. I wasn’t the biggest fan of New Villager but I gave it a shot anyway. The song may well be one of 2012’s best, a gorgeous multilayered vocal with just the most subtle hint of autotune (no small feat) and a muted guitar rhythm that explodes into polyphony worthy of the most daring of Bon Iver tunes. Don’t miss this one.
Beware and Be Grateful was released on April 17th, 2012 on Barsuk Records. You can find the vinyl on Insound here, and the digital version on iTunes here .
The Art of the Mixtape 