Maps

If you think about it, the moniker by which Northampton’s James Chapman has been going by as far as his music’s concerned since 2006 - Maps - is a little bit like the sound that he’s been honing for the past eight or so years - it’s understated, it’s ambiguous, and, honestly, it’s beautiful in its simplicity. Chapman has been blending an old-fashioned style of shoegaze with more typical indie rock tropes to bring about a sound that won him rave reviews across the board for his 2007 debut album, We Can Create, which was co-produced by Valgeir Sigurdsson, a man who’s also worked with the likes of Sigur Ros and Feist. Since then, he’s kept up his reputation as a critical darling with two further albums, including last year’s Vicissitude, but he hasn’t kept up his live work in the same way that he did in the early days, instead turning his hand most recently to a slew of remixes, including one for Depeche Mode. Whether or not he’ll choose to resurrect the one man band stylings of his early gigs for more shows soon remains to be seen; for now, the records he’s put out will remain as close as fans can get.