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Reviewed by Emma Moss

The Map Room: Weatherless

Reviewed by Emma Moss

The Map Room: Weatherless

‘Weatherless’ is an album that hits you right in the emotions. There’s no time to soak up the intro as Brendon Morrow and Simon Gooding, aka The Map Room, pull you in from the beginning with their bright vocals and light beats. If summer was looking for a theme song it might very well choose Colour, the opening track. This lays the foundation for an album of riotous pop celebration. For those familiar with All You’ll Ever Find, ‘Weatherless’ will feel like coming home. The tracks carry the same lightness and delicateness, the songs woven together by acoustic guitars, piano and subtle synth touches. It’s an album with a story to tell with an overall message of what feels like hope. Inspired in part by the pair’s South American travels, the album feels like a journey of sorts. The wild, carefree and idealistic first days of summer, peaking in the heat and the gear shift at track six with Dynamo, where the pop pulls back a notch, the remainder of the album signalling a chilling out as though summer is ending. To that end album closer Any Other feels like a lament and a signal of the need to get back to the real world. The piano solo closing out I Don’t Mind allows listeners to catch their breath and appreciate the broadly appealing beautiful music the pair have created.