Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Mazes – Mazes

Mazes – Mazes

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March 24, 2009 by Peter Ekman
Category: Albums (and EPs)

mazesNumerology never did you any favors, safe to say, but dig this big crux: Mazes spin off from The 1900s, the psychish Chicago poppers formed in 2004 and last seen orbiting the blogosphere. (Not 1990s, mind you, those rakish Scotsmen [2006] with Yummy Fur wafting through their veins.) The 1900s? Seven-piece. Mazes? Just three.

Edward Anderson and Caroline Donovan shed the wall-of-twee plenitude The 1900s do so well, and in tandem with Charles D’Autremont weave a markedly looser “mid-fi” collection hatched in that venerable, nebulous American thirdspace: bedrooms, basements, and the odd studio under duress. It’s a thoroughly pleasing ride, with twangy divagations here and there — just echoes, really: see, inter alia, “Heather on Heather” — but for the most part is a clear-sightedly eclectic popfest, surprising but never jarring.

Anderson’s voice isn’t distinctive, but his steady delivery, his allergy to overt histrionics, keeps the layered instrumentation at center stage. What wags will doubtless call lush, shimmering, haunting, strikes me as just subtle. Each track wears its thick adornment lightly, and it never feels fussy, just mindful.

The press machine says Mazes channel New Zealand — i.e. Flying Nun, 1981 A.D.; The Chills, The Clean, and all — but I’m hearing a synthesis and gentle reconfiguration of ’90s archetypes above all. When the Farfisa cuts through on “Cat State Comity,” assertive but not strutting, a baroque little foil to the vocal melody, they’re speaking Aislers Set. Similarly on “Love to Lay,” as close to pop perfection as it comes: organ meat lines the skeletal form, nearly motorik in its hushed insistence. Vocal lines dive and weave, setting up daring chord changes that don’t disorient so much as enlighten. The lazy boy–girl act recalls the light-hearted Yo La Tengo that comes out on Fakebook; post-surf amuse-bouches fall in with the Crabs, the K also-rans, or the supple, spare guitar duels proffered lately by, say, Real Estate.

Perhaps Mazes isn’t as freewheeling as they say — everything works in deference, even if not outright submission, to a cunning, capacious logic — but it supplies a certain levity that higher-strung perfectionist pop often manifestly lacks. The stars align, maybe, and it all adds up.


"A-Mazing Sea" is a maze of activity at Rochester Museum & Science Center

March 19, 2009

A-Mazing Sea, a touring exhibit about the world beneath the waves, opens Thursday at the Rochester Museum & Science Center, 657 East Ave. It is constructed like a maze and features interactive activities about sea creatures and their environment. Visitors can have a whale of a good time as they explore mysterious myths and fun facts about the ocean and its inhabitants at five Experience Galleries: "Sea Lion Island," "Sea Turtle Station," "Whale World," "Shark Den" and "Octopus Garden." The exhibit, created by the Maritime Aquarium and Minotaur Mazes, will remain on display through May 3 in the Riedman Gallery. Museum admission is $10 ($9 for seniors and college students, $8 for children age 3 to 18). Call (585) 271-4320 or go to www.rmsc.org.



In your voice

Read reactions to this story

mazes

Imk Blot Mazes is a really cool resource for mazes.
Many of the mazes are of celebrities or of some famous piece of artwork. Others are just plain famous pictures from the press or media.


This is a maze of monkeys jumping off roof tops. It took something like 20 hour to draw this one, and it probably can be solved in about 1-4 minutes. Totally worth it :)


Team of Monkeys

Team of Monkeys has a great variety of really cool printable mazes for you to complete. I really like the originality of these mazes. Exceptional stuff.

Mazes Team Of Monkeys Comics

Real Simple maze of a monkeys face close up. This maze should take about 20 to 30 seconds to complete, about the same time it took for you to read these sentences :)
mazes picture for close up maze of eyes

Have a look at our maze collection. Enjoy.

Mazes

Maze_1 Maze_2 Maze_3 Maze_4 Maze_5 Maze_6 Maze 7 Maze 8



Maze of an Olympic Pool - Y.Frimer Mazes
pool maze 001
Please contact the maze artist if you'd like to use any of these mazes in your publication or paper.