Despite the Canadian undertones inherent in their name, THE MAPLE STATE actually operate out of Manchester, coming to us with the blessing of the ever-vigilant High Voltage label.
However, if new single 'We Swear By The Light Life' is anything to go by, this young quintet led by bassist/ vocalist Gregory Counsell look to the other side of the Atlantic for their influences, ensuring there's a distinct Emo undertow being dragged in their melodic wake here.
As a rule that's not the most promising of prognoses where this here writer's concerned, but 'We Swear...' is actually quite acceptable: propelled along by busy percussion, alternating between supple indie-disco and a few requisite Math-rock changes and William Pearson's excellent, Celeste-style keyboards, it's only let down by Counsell's rather whiny, frat-boy vocals.
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Still, coming in at a just-right 3 minutes, it doesn't outstay its' welcome and certainly piles a trailer load of dung over most of its' US ilk, which at least earns them a reprieve for now. Their mini-album, 'Say, Scientist' is due early in 2008, so my jury will remain out until then.
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