It's Maritime time!

I've had this great Maritime record since early August, a fact that thrilled me to no end when I stumbled upon it. But I listened to the first two free downloads ("Guns of Navarone" and "For Science Fiction") and I was fairly nonplussed with the result. Sure, it sounded good, but I just couldn't wrap my heart around it as easily as I wanted to. There was no "Tearing up the Oxygen" instant-anthem on the first half-listen. I gave the record's surprising closer "Love Has Given Up" 4 stars and I tucked it away, awaiting the release date to revisit an album I desperately wanted to love.

Three months later, we're full circle. Heresy is out and I'm playing it like I've never laid ears on it. And I'm loving it. It's dense and chewy while at the same time tangy and sweet. It makes me want to hug myself, much like the previous record (a top 10 of 2006). The guitars seem slightly sharper this time around, painting a scene that isn't all sun and birds like We, The Vehicles. This scene is a little more overcast, spears of sunlight piercing the ground where allowed by the cloudcover. Those islands of light are triumphant and guilded with sparkling tones that would make The Cure jealous. In the distance, the clouds retreat. They want no part of this awesome record.

Listen:
Love Has Given Up
Pearl
[from Heresy and the Hotel Choir|buy]