Maps

James Chapman, the Northhamptonshire one-man-band and home-recorder known as Maps, charts a new course through the well-worn terrain of dreamy, densely layered, atmospheric rock. Along the way, he meets up with some beats belonging to the Postal Service, takes a dip in trip-hop and dabbles in a little symphonic psychedelia. The lines between tracks are vague and undefined at times, and it's easy to get lost in the album's overarching, overlapping ambience. But Chapman's dedication to perfecting and fine-tuning the gauzy gorgeousness of his sound shine through the haze.