Cougar Microbes

Cougar Microbes caught up with the members of Maps & Atlases munching on a vegetarian platter hours before they were due on stage at Cargo.  We discussed sweaty clothes, Cee Lo Green and scary songs:

- Cougar Microbes – So to start off; what time did you guys get out of bed this morning?

- Maps & Atlases – We got up at 8:30.

- CM - 8:30? Was that out of choice or where you dragged out of bed?

- M&A – Well we had to get down to London from Manchester so it was kind of like we dragged ourselves out of bed.

- CM – How do you guys kill time on the road? Do you play games?

- M&A – We had a couple of fun games. We used to have games, now we just don’t talk (laughs). Fortunately there’s lots of scenery to take in.

- CM - And the great weather?

M&A – Of course your great weather!

CM – What have been your favourite venues on this UK tour?

M&A – We really liked the venue from last night, Manchester Deaf Institute was really cool, and Glasgow just looked awesome as a city.

CM – Any absolutely shocking venues?

M&A- Actually, kind of funny you bring that up… they were mostly good.

CM – We like to name and shame

M&A – All our shows have been good experiences…. but it got so packed at our Brighton show and it got extremely hot, the air conditioning wasn’t working… people were passing out, literally. We nearly passed out. It was pretty bad.

The clothes we have from that show are still wet.

CM – Are there any tracks in the set you are sick of playing?

M&A – Not yet but probably by the end of this tour (laughs).

CM – And what’s your favourite?

M&A – You know, I think ‘Pigeon’ is a fun one to play it’s got all these things that could go wrong so it is just scary enough to be exciting every time. Its high energy but it has a good root to it. It’s pretty easy to mess it up but it is so great to play.

CM – Are you guys able to write on the road?

M&A – I guess writing lyrics can happen any time, but we don’t necessarily as you would imagine. I guess sometimes we will have a 2 minute jam on the side of the soundcheck but for the most part when you are playing live you don’t wanna be pissing off the sound guys.

CM – Whats more important for you, the lyrics or the melody?

M&A – Hopefully there is a balance between both. I think the lyrics are important to give a sense to the songs you are singing but without the melody tying it together its not really worth anything. I guess if i had to chose one Lyrics would be slightly more important.

I mean look at Cake, who are a fantastic band, and notice how they emphasise the lyrics whilst he almost talks over it.

CM – and says ‘Oh no’ a lot of times…

M&A – Exactly!

CM – You guys have toured with Ra Ra Riot, mewithoutyou and Minus the Bear, who would you like to tour with again

M&A – We did a few shows with Rar Ra Riot and those were fun and we did some with Foals which we also enjoyed. Really any of those tours we’d love to do again.

I’d like to do Frightened Rabbit again. There aren’t too many bands that we’ve toured with that we disliked.

CM – What is the most flattering thing you’ve read or heard about yourselves?

M&A – I really like some of the comparisons we get all the time. we are one of these bands that always gets oddball comparisons. People are like “yeah you sound like Talking Heads and… Prince” and I’m just thinking yeah, I guess thats pretty awesome. We’ll take that.

The other day Dave was compared to Cee Lo which made us laugh.

CM – Which other bands are doing stuff that you like at the moment?

M&A – I like Phantogram a lot, Wild Beasts came out a while ago but that was an awesome album, a band that is coming out soon called Gypsyblood will be pretty awesome.

CM – When was the last time you queued up and paid for a show?

M&A - I just got tickets to Dismemberment Plan in Chicago, hopefully I wont have to queue. I got tickets for a Thermals show last year and didn’t really have to wait in line for very long. Not because I’m a rockstar or anything, just that I got there at the right time.

CM – Are there any covers you are planning to record or have recorded?

M&A – We are always trying to think of an awesome cover we could play.

CM – You could do Cee Lo?

M&A – Now that’s an awesome idea… We were actually working on a couple of songs earlier in the tour like an Echo & The Bunnymen track.

CM – Final question, if you have to bring an artist back from the dead and swap them with a living artist who would it be and why?

M&A – We’d probably wanna bring someone back whose career has been cut short like Buddy Holly or someone like that. Someone who was unfortunate to die but fortunate for their career to go that way.

I say we bring back Buddy Holly. Swap them with someone like Puddle of Mudd. In fact you don’t even have to bring anyone back, just take that band away.

The album ‘Perch Patchwork‘ is out now on FatCat.

TRACKS:

God this is good! Trying to sum this record up is almost as challenging as to listen to it without having to stop what you are doing, stare gleefully at the speakers & uncontrollably bob your head to the groove.

‘Omni‘ the bands first full length since 2007′s “Planet of Ice“, finds Minus the Bear in what feels & sounds like effortless full flight. It is this effortlessness, to this humble reviewers ears, that makes this album a marvel onto itself.

This album is detailed: Cascading soundscapes litter the “sometimes simple, sometimes progressive“ song structures. Every bleep, guitar chord or drum loop so carefully placed & with such precision you would think this was crafted by machine. Alas, it wasn’t, and thus like any art in the hands of master craftsmen is injected with as much soul as accuracy.

Trying to pin down the band’s sound as they march through the 10 cuts on offer here is a hard one. A vast array of influence come to mind when listening to the album in its entireity (as a side note, this album should be enjoyed as a total) but never do the band sound like they are struggling for a voice.

The locked but joyous chemistry between the drums and bass (Erin Tate & Cory Murchy respectively) provide such a solid platform that the rest of the band are allowed to inflect the Jimmy Eat World esque Indie rock with The Police inspired guitar lines & Daft Punk synth lines without tredding on the songs. There is even room for nods to early 70′s soul and aphex twin style broken beats creating something quite unique.

This is all stitched together magninificently by Joe Chiccarelli‘s (The White Stripes, My Morning Jacket) big yet airy production and Jake Sniders
understated yet hook riddled vocals.

Minus The Bear have managed to create something quite special with this record. Go. Listen!

—–

Post by the Dusseldorf bound Warren

—–

TRACKS:

Minus The Bear – Summer Angel

Today’s Cougar pick are a band hailing from Utah, Nevada and Arizona, just in case one state doesn’t satisfy you. Shark Speed describe their music as ‘progressive’ though personally I prefer to go with melodic ‘post-punk with pop sensibilities’. Listening to debut album ‘Sea Sick Music’ it is immediately that these boys are incredibly competent musicians and song writers.

Compare their sound to the likes Minus The Bear, Bear Vs Shark (just to continue with the animal theme), Jets To Brazil and Piebald and other luminaries from that early 00′s alt-rock revival. It has to be said that the fact that Shark Speed draw from their influences rather than completely rip them off is a point in the band’s favour.

A slight criticism that can be made is that perhaps a little bit of an extra vocal hook is missing to propel the band into the big leagues. However, with the addition of trumpets and a great sounding recording there is plenty of spark in this release to indicate that this four-piece are definitely one to keep an eye on. ‘Sea Sick Music’ is a perfect companion for the summer.

————-

Guest post by Kenny The Menace.

————

TRACKS:

Shark Speed – Cast Off Dance Off

Shark Speed – Freddy