BELLA477CD
Release Date: 15 March 2015
For all of its dreamy moods, Maze of Woods frequently edges toward electronic pop, and is more expansive and dynamic than the debut. "Escapers", with a broken beat and dub-echoed voices, wouldn't raise an eyebrow on an Aphex Twin hard-drive purge, the storm clouds of "Peregrine" abruptly clear out into a bright Boards of Canada knock, and Orb-like twinkles scatter over big frosty peaks on "Wolfkids". Smith's guitar is often recognizable and he provides a variety of delicate effects, from hollowed-out thwacks to what sounds like a glockenspiel made of lasers.
The album also makes subtle but widespread use of the kinds of clipped, deformed vocal samples we're used to hearing in electronic music. A length of unintelligible aria twists through "Springworlds" like a lost ribbon, and chattering voices are woven deep into the piano-rich fabric of "Peregrine". Throughout, and to the album's benefit, the duo's individual identities are more fully dissolved, so they can be more malleable in pursuing the idea behind a given song.
- Brian Howe, Pitchfork (2015)