Mazes are in a continual state of metamorphosis.
Signed to Fat Cat, the band's debut album plied a fine line of scuzzy punk, all loping Pavement riffs and scowling vocals. Underneath, though, were a myriad of influences swarming around their veins, eager to move in a new direction.
Holed up in their studio, Mazes have begun to explore new possibilities, new methods of making music. Adding splintered, fractured electronics to their sound, the group have allowed Neu's infinite sense of rhythm to infest their imagination.
The results are pretty staggering. A huge leap on from the promise of their debut, new album 'Ores & Minerals' is an ambitious, tightly wrought return.
Throwing themselves open to new avenues, the album leaps from the avant disco of Arthur Russell to vocals which seem to snarl like Mark E Smith. Refusing to be pigeonholed, Mazes have returned with something genuinely thrilling, fascinating – a second album which explodes the possibilities afforded to the band, opening new routes past old barricades.
Here's a quick message from Mazes' own Conan Roberts. "It feel's like as a band we've been waiting a long time on people hearing this record, so its with a sense of relief and excitement that you can now hear it in full and own the finished product next week. It's the culmination of over a years worth of ideas, thinking outside of the box, pushing ourselves in unfamiliar directions and exploring a new way to make music and function as a band (at least to us anyway)."
'Ores & Minerals' is out on Monday (February 18th). Listen to it exclusively on ClashMusic.
