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The folk rock/emo pop quartet from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Maritime
have released their third installment, Heresy & The Hotel Choir.
The album was produced by Stuart Sikes (Cat Power, Modest
Mouse) and released by Flameshovel Records. This time around lead
vocalist/guitarist Davey von Bohlen and drummer Dan Didier,
who were originally from the '90s alternative rock band The Promise
Ring, join forces with guitarist Dan Hinz and bassist Justin
Klug for a journey that takes them from the neo-folk paraglides
of Chin Up Chin Up to the synth-textured pop glazes of The
Chemical Brothers and the alternative country ambience of Jason
Collett. Their melodies fluctuate between lo-fi, slow burning
kindles to jangly midtempo numbers with country folk fields that recall
of another Wisconsin favorite, Cedarwell, and the upbeat soft
rock crescents of Stars, The Anniversary and, of course,
The Promise Ring. In many ways, Maritime is an extension of what The
Promise Ring started and could have become if the other members had
held on like Didier and Bohlen.
The album starts off with a homey country folk vibe on "Guns
Of Navarone." The music has a calming feel and wonderful harmonies
which give the song a host of easy listening pleasantries. Following
is a string of synth-textured romps with catchy hooks, lush melodic
rock dynamics and gently pulsing rhythms reflective of The Kooks
and Rooney as the album goes into "With Holes For Thumb
Sized Birds," "For Science Fiction," and "Hand
Over Hannover." Shimmering guitars resonate on "Peril"
to form a series of sonic buttercups, and the emo-pop textures on
"Pearl" glisten with new wave inflections like Simple
Minds. The folk rock cadences of "Aren't We All Found Out"
and "Hours That You Keep" have effects that share aspects
with Jesse Malin, while the country flange on "Are We
Renegade" has a campfire beating reminiscent of Buck McCoy.
The lightly throbbing beats are hypnotic and row steadfast beneath
the vocal melodies and roving guitar licks that cushion and fizzle.
The upbeat soft pop chambers of "Be Unhappy" and "Love
Has Given Up" has frothy melodic rock rotations while the country
folk ballad "First Night On Earth" rocks like a lullaby
drifting the listener off to dreamland.
One thing if for sure, Maritime spreads their wings on Heresy
& The Hotel Choir. They aren't confined to one specific genre
but play a number of styles and synthesize them to create easy listening
hybrids. The album flashes from upbeat to mellow, always keeping the
album moving. Maritime are slated to open shows for Jimmy Eat World
in late 2007 and are presently on a club tour.
-Susan Frances
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