''Beware and Be Grateful'' is the second studio album by
Maps & Atlases
Maps & Atlases is an American indie rock group from Chicago, Illinois, United States, equally influenced by alternative rock, folk and experimental music. In addition, they have been labeled as a math rock band.
The band has released three o ...
, released in 2012 by
Barsuk Records
Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, that was founded by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, in 1998 to release their band's material. Its logo is a draw ...
.
Track listing
Reception
The album has a score of 71 out of 100 on
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
based on 20 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.
In a positive review for ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'', Chris Mincher highlighted the record's "fluidity," "airy harmonies, polyrhythmic melodies, and inventive time-signature experiments," stating that "''Beware and Be Grateful'' has plenty to please both casual listeners and angular-prog purists (assuming such people exist)."
Conversely, a review from ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' weighed ''Beware and Be Gratefuls technical aspects and layered songwriting against its emotive capacity:
"Maps & Atlases are back with an energetic collection of intelligent pop. This time around, the band’s obsession with complex rhythms is channelled though layers and layers of melody ... What’s missing is any emotional contrast to stop all that cleverness from sounding overwhelming."
Travis Persaud of ''
Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...
'' similarly praised the album's production value while lamenting its lack of grounding pathos: "The songs are engaging and incredibly catchy, but lack emotion ― that intangible quality that will take this feel-good record and give it staying power. It's a step in an interesting direction though."
Further reading
Maps & Atlases Carve 'Potent' Path With 'Beware and Be Grateful'(''Billboard'')
References
Maps & Atlases albums
2012 albums
{{2010s-indie-rock-album-stub