28 June 2013 - 0 Comments

Atmospheric indie pop duo The Map Room, are pleased to announce the release of their self-titled debut album, due out June 28th.

Simon Gooding and Brendon Morrow are both recording engineers and multi-instrumentalists (Simon works as an engineer and producer at York St and Brendon as a freelance sound mixer for TV and film). 

Deciding they needed a break from the daily grind, the duo recently travelled for one year, from Argentina to Colombia, armed with a portable recording device and two old acoustics purchased from an antique store in Buenos Aires. Embracing the transient lifestyle, their new songs began to take shape, and lyrical themes of movement, displacement and strange encounters rose to the fore. 

When Simon and Brendon returned home to record, the simple acoustic demos were transformed into beautifully crafted atmospheric pop songs possessing full band dynamics rich in synthesizer, piano and electric guitar.

The result is spacious and layered, a dream-like experience.  Gooding’s ethereal vocals soar delicately in contrast with Morrow’s lower, gravelly timbre. Each track delights as it draws influences from indie acts such as The National, Radiohead, Grizzly Bear and Phoenix.

The first single Pilot is a light airy offering with a languorously bouncy beat and bittersweet electric guitar riff. The chorus is ambrosial, melodic and at once wistful and uplifting.

Second single All You’ll Ever Find is a lush yet spacious electronic track driven by persistent synthetic drum-beats, cyclic electric guitar and the ethereal male voice of Simon Gooding punctuating the song with yearning lyrics.

The Map Room have produced an album written, performed, recorded and mixed entirely by the duo, however, they handed over mastering duties to the masters at Sterling Sound in New York.

The Map Room is released via Rhythmethod and DRMNZ.

The Map Room will be celebrating the release with a show on Saturday the 29th June at Lucha Lounge, Auckland.

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