Falling Off Maps - A Seaside Town in Winter

  by Dave Goodwin

published: 25 / 1 / 2014

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I don’t want to get too over excited, but yet another band is emerging from the hotbed of musical talent that is Nottingham. Falling Off Maps have unleashed a debut album ‘A Seaside Town in Winter’ which includes previous singles ‘Honest’, ‘The Redeemer’ and forthcoming single ‘All My Fears’, and which from the outset is wonderful. The different styles and sounds to break out of my home city are amazing, and this is no exception with its soft, delicate tones that lend itself to its ambitious but confident lyrical content. Falling Off Maps formed at the start of 2009, and had no ideas which direction they were going to head in. ‘A Seaside Town in Winter’ began to take shape with the band members emailing home demos and ideas back and forth to each other to see what came of it. It seems to have been recorded in basements, bedrooms, bathrooms and living rooms throughout England, not just Nottingham, and this self-produced debut has actually taken quite some time to get finished. You don’t have to look far into it to see the influences of bands such as Wild Beasts with its opening track’ You are Here’ and its harmonies. Vocalist and guitarist Dave Wright joined forces with Dane Prewitt (bass and electronics), Joe Watts (guitar), Tom Harrison (piano) and Jay Wright (drums) to form an exciting combo who have plied their trade around the venues and picked up a decent following from their stage exploits. The studio sound is one of equal proportions too. There are tracks on here, all with a powerful sound and a dark lyrical content that will keep you with it. Three years in the making, ‘A seaside Town in Winter’ is a mix of minimalist guitar, effortless strings and drum backing with post-rock falsetto and raw honesty and intimate words. You would expect a five piece to sound noisier than this but all the parts sum up together into a smooth harmonic that drift across your tabs. ( NB: “Tabs” is Nottingham speak for ears.). This is an album that will stay around for a long time and surely catapult the Maps up to the next level. Check out the simple but haunting ‘I Don’t Know!’ A future hit of epic proportions. There is also some strong photo work on the cd cover by Matthew Bingham to take a glimpse of. A fabulous record!

Track Listing:-

1 You Are Here
2 The Redeemer
3 Honest
4 Through the Forest
5 All My Fears
6 I.D.S.T
7 I.T.A
8 Down Past the Boatyard
9 Wake:Sleep, Pt. 1 & 2
10 I Don't Know What You Want
11 Wolf River / The Smoking Room A
12 Neon Cross
13 Cathedral Fire
14 Flowers By the Roadside
15 Visiting Hours

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Falling-Off-Maps/313239519100
http://www.fallingoffmaps.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/fallingoffmaps
https://www.youtube.com/user/fallingoffmapstv

Label Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Square-Peg-Round-Hole-Recordings/164459

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