Maps of Norway - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Post-Punk, Post-Rock, Post-Post-Punk, what post are we at now? Is it still after the last thing or is before the next one yet? Is that bass line retro-ironic or proto-serious? I cant even tell anymore. Maps of Norway made their live debut in early 2004 in St. Paul, MN. Formed by drummer Jeff Ball and guitarist Eric Hanson, both previous of Vespertine and bass player Matt Helgeson, late of Unbelievable Jolly Machine, the group was not completed until the addition of vocalist Rebecca Leigh. The band quickly moved beyond early influences, Blonde Redhead, Joy Division, and Fugazi to develop their own distinctive, moody voice. What I mean is Maps of Norway are not merely a simple retread of styles from early 80s UK, this isnt just something you can slip easily in your collection to be enjoyed leisurely; you need to come to this recording on its own terms. The rhythm section, which was obviously fed huge portions of rock dynamics as children, uses Helgesons rubbery bass and Balls whip-snap drums to carve out a large space of sound for Hansons atmospheric guitar lines which sketch out melodies and other coded bits of information. Rebecca Leigh brings actual singing (maybe thats even crooning) and a distinctive stage presence to the band. Oh hey, they play all this stuff live too, in case there were worries that this was a studio thing or the band were such delicate flowers that might wilt under the harsh stage lights. Out here in the middle west, we require that our gloomy rock still has to rock.Chris Besinger

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 1/7/2005
Band Website: mapsofnorway.net
Band Members: Rebecca Leigh sings. Eric Hanson plays guitar. Jeff Ball plays drums. Matt Helgeson plays bass.
Influences: Wire, Buzzcocks, Talking Heads, Blonde Redhead, Mission of Burma, Bauhaus, Sonic Youth, Neu!, Can, Pet Shop Boys, 90 Day Men, The Cure, Public Image Limited, David Bowie.....
Sounds Like: It's usually pretty embarassing when bands try to talk about what they sound like. You can listen if you wish.
Record Label: Guilt Ridden Pop (www.guiltriddenpop.com)
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Maps of Norway live mp3s

our good friends Joe and Erzra have put up a set we played at Big Vs awhile back on their blog, The Warning of the Ships, which also has sets by some other great local TC bands...check it out...there'...
Posted by Maps of Norway on Thu, 25 Oct 2007 02:04:00 PST

4 digit six remix

Our good friend Theorrany, the DJ and mixmaster that he is, has taken the song '4 digit six' off our last album 'Sister Stations', and has created a remix version of it. It is a beautiful piece of wo...
Posted by Maps of Norway on Wed, 19 Sep 2007 07:38:00 PST

Back to the lab...without a mic to grab

Keeping our profile a little lower as of late so we can concentrate on writing new material. Have a handful of songs we're playing out now, so if you haven't seen us in awhile there will be some new s...
Posted by Maps of Norway on Thu, 12 Apr 2007 10:52:00 PST

Sister Stations review in Big Takeover

Here's the text of the review coming out in the next issue of Big Takeover. nice review!Maps of NorwaySister Stations(Guilt Ridden Pop)The promo sheet accompanying this debut CD from Minneapolis four-...
Posted by Maps of Norway on Wed, 14 Mar 2007 09:29:00 PST

CMJ Chart Axxxtion

last week we were number 11 on New Ads on the CMJ college radio charts i've been informed that this week the album will be number 72 on the CMJ Top 200 airplay charts, which I guess is really good.......
Posted by Maps of Norway on Wed, 07 Feb 2007 06:16:00 PST

Sister Stations review in Punk Planet .77!

it's positive.here's the text:Maps of Norway Sister Stations:Pointing out the problems on Sister Stations is easy. To be clear, the record is not loaded with flubbed notes or smooth-jazz covers of Ram...
Posted by Maps of Norway on Thu, 11 Jan 2007 11:48:00 PST

Live on The Current..also..album on iTunes

We played three songs on 89.3 the Current's "Local Show with Chris Roberts" last Sunday, went well...they usually archive their programs on the website, will post a link when it goes up...Our album Si...
Posted by Maps of Norway on Wed, 08 Nov 2006 08:09:00 PST

1 on Radio K this week!

exciting news: Sister Stations is the number one album on Radio K (770 AM in the Twin Cities, www.radiok.org) and "Traffic" is the number three song on their Top 7. Big thanks to all the good people t...
Posted by Maps of Norway on Tue, 19 Sep 2006 01:19:00 PST

CD in stores/online now.

Well, give or take a power outage the CD release show went well....big thanks to the other great bands that played and also everyone that came out and was patient while the electricians were working o...
Posted by Maps of Norway on Tue, 22 Aug 2006 08:56:00 PST

CD Release Show!

well..after taking us a little over a year, our first CD, "Sister Stations", is complete.big thanks to Mike Wisti at Albatross for doing such a good job recording it, Mike is amazing.It will be out be...
Posted by Maps of Norway on Mon, 10 Jul 2006 02:10:00 PST