LOVE OF CARTOGRAPHY

I've been listening to this one for a while. I've been having trouble pinpointing just what it is that makes me like this album less than their previous release, 2011's ...and so we destroyed everything, which I love. I think I've finally got it. Most of the sounds and weaves used in the songs of Love of Cartography are far simpler, far more melody-oriented and less filled with the subtle keyboard- and computer-generated "layers" beneath and between the main chords and melodies. The songs on Love of Cartography fall too easily into the bin of "Post Rock for the masses", whereas those of ...and so we destroyed everything each possessed so many delightfully unexpected twists and turns to keep me fully engaged throughout. The band's intimate and idiosyncratic touch to each song of ...and so we destroyed everything was so magical and so interesting that I feel that I could practically feel the joy and enthusiasm these guys were having in the recording and mixing rooms while making that album. I do not feel the same transferral of energy here. As a matter of fact, I feel myself 'tuning out' at some point during almost every song of Love of Cartography. The guitar chords are strummed more aggressively, played with more distortion, and recorded more loudly, and they feel more rehearsed and more methodical, less free-wheeling and spontaneous. Also, what were subtly layered beneath and within the mix before are now right up front and in your face. I can still feel emotion--especially in the solos, but everything else feels so . . . 'by the book.' Are the band members focusing more on composition and the mental side of their music--trying to produce a "perfect, polished" album? Is this just an example of the dreaded "sophomore slump" or is this the more mature band exhibiting the "true" direction that they'd like their music to take? Don't get me wrong, this is a collection of fine song. They are incredibly well produced, but they come straight at you more in the vein of a band like MASERATI than that of a synth-generated GYBE as their previous album had exhibited (at least, potentially). While ...and so we destroyed everything felt new and fresh--like a new great hope for the potentially for growth and 'progress' within the Post Rock subgenre, Love of Cartography feels like good ole Post Rock. Nice stuff for Post Rock enthusiasts. Nothing very new or exciting for the rest of the world.

Favorite songs: the gentle trip-hoppy-turns-rock anthem 10. "Your Time Will Come Again" (8:56); the gorgeous yet simple melodies of 9. "Something Like Avalanches" (5:30); the PINK FLOYD- and MASERATI-influenced 4. "Emergent" (8:28); the straight on power of 2. "Traced in Constellations" (4:37), and; 5. "Great Northern" (4:58). 3.5 star effort rounded down for disappointment factor.