I wouldn’t say Map are usually my kind of band. they’re more akin to an obscure Death Cab than the genres I usually listen to in my spare time, but ‘San Francisco in the 90s’ is actually a gorgeous little six tracker. While not breaking any new musical ground, tracks like ‘The Art of Living’ and ‘Au Bord de la Mer’ are beautiful little indie pop songs that could easily be heard in the background during a more melancholic moment on The OC. Seth Cohen would definitely be a fan of Map…
While the band excel when Josh Dooley sings, it’s actually the closing, and haunting, ‘Rachel Dreams’ that stands out for me. Some dreamy, yet pretty sad, beats are laid over a wandering guitar line to wonderful effect. Again, it doesn’t break new boundaries, but it does stick out as being an excellent track on a nice little record.