Local duo Mapletons do a certain thing well. Their Canyon Falls EP is a charming blend of down-tempo guitar/keyboard folk and sample-based electronics. The feel wavers between sickly sweet white-boy tunefulness and effortlessly sinister dissonance, with dark themes appearing readily between the cracks of the dainty melodies. Effortless is actually a good descriptor for Mapleton’s output. Like all good storytellers they seem always one step ahead of the listener, with a bevy of clever structural changes or slight shifts in instrumentation to tease out their themes. All The Birds Have Flown Away works for this very reason. The plucked acoustic guitar and anti-depressant organ lines are hauntingly melancholic as they complement the wistful vocal melody. The low, distorted piano that surfaces in the chorus not only defines its relevant section, but casts new light on the rest of the song. Another great little Brisbane EP.

JAKEB SMITH

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