TRACK BY TRACK: The Multiple Cat – Intricate Maps
The Multiple Cat is the Quad Cities based indie-rock
project of singer-songwriter and producer Patrick Stolley, also co-founder and
engineer of the popular music site Daytrotter.
He formed the band in 1994 and released a few
criminally-underappreciated albums of 60’s-inspired jangle-pop in the late 90’s
and early 2000’s before going on a lengthy hiatus until reemerging with the
aptly-titled album, The Return Of The
Multiple Cat in 2013 via Guilt Ridden Pop Records. Now a trio, featuring bassist Ben Crabb and
drummer Andrew Barkau, they are set to release their excellent new album, Intricate Maps, tomorrow via Cartouche
Records.
In celebration, Stolley has provided Atlas and the
Anchor an exclusive Track By Track Commentary of Intricate Maps that dives deep into the personal lyrical themes - love,
loss, magic and the mind - of the album giving insight into the writing and
recording process as well as the inspiration behind each track.
Stream the catchy yet off-kilter melodies and strange
New Wave-inspired synths of Intricate
Maps here and read-along with Stolley’s commentary below.
“Maps”: “Another installment of my fascination with
perception of reality. Confusing the map
for the territory is a basic flaw of the mind.
The more intricate the map, the harder it is to remember that it represents
actual terrain. Connecting the symbol (map)
to the idea (terrain) and flowing back and forth between the two is the
goal. Integration of the opposites.” –
Patrick Stolley
“David”: “This is about my cousin, who was my best
friend when we were kids. He was very funny, very smart. He used alcohol to make the “bells” stop
ringing. He died at 44, diabetic and
living in his mom’s apartment in a retirement center. A bottle of vodka was nearby, the TV was on.”
– PS
“Theme
for –S”: “A sound
collage of bits from my kids; my daughter by the thawing Mississippi river in
spring and one of my sons singing through a Space Echo into a Rhodes
cabinet. –S refers to another cousin of
mine who died of cancer during the making of the record. She fought really hard to stay alive, as
opposed to David.” – PS
“Green
Ice”: “I had a girlfriend in my teens who was one
of the most pure, remarkable, strong people I have ever known. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t recognize
that at the time. She was very tall with
green eyes. All the things I thought
were kind of silly about her were really just her genuine-ness and originality. I cheated on her, treated her horribly and
dumped her. Years later, she let me know
what an ass I was (am). I think of her
often.” – PS
“The
Lovers”: “I wrote
this song after reading Goethe’s story “ The Green Snake and the Beautiful
Lily” or “Marchen”. It is essentially an
alchemical allegory about transformation and mutation. The Tarot contains a card called The Lovers
depicting the male/female dichotomy as well as the above/below on/off themes of
all existence. Jung would say the
conscious/unconscious.” – PS
“The
Boring Game”:
“I got to thinking about how kids (usually girls) mess around with Ouija
boards…usually sitting around a darkened room with candles burning. They’re so bored and concerned with growing
up, and ask the board all sorts of mundane questions about boys, marriage, the
future, gossip, etc. The entity on the
other end (the hill, the place of spirit) that has to answer and move the planchette
must be sick of all the silliness, and be longing for substantial questions.” –
PS
“Magic
That Works”:
“Imagination is the key to all workable magic. It is actually occurring in the mind, not so
much “out there”. The really neat thing
is there isn’t really a difference between “out there” and anywhere else. The goal of imagination is to represent
thought with symbols; either shapes, pictures, ritual, etc. The mind is reprogrammed by repeated symbolic
exercise. Creative action=results.” – PS
“Theme
II”: “We set out to foreshadow the basic melody of
“Magic That Doesn’t Work”. Phil played
the Moog line, Ben played the low Arp line.
We did it on a 4 track reel to reel.” – PS \
“Magic
That Doesn’t Work”:
“Church/organized religion followed blindly and without creativity. People are given a box full of rote beliefs
that they can open and eat like chocolates.
It’s very easy to do, to consume and believe. It’s been going on a long time. There is truth in every religion, but not a
workable magic.” – PS
“Theme
III”: “This is Ben Crabb’s bass jam creation. We recorded it live to an Ampex 2 track 351
tube tape recorder, just a stereo pair of old RCA ribbon mics straight into the
deck.” – PS
“Bells”:
“The image or idea of a sound (map) that represents an idea (territory)
constantly ringing in the background of all thought and consciousness, the
inspiration for quest, creativity, inquiry.
Really, it never goes away. The
bell can be anything…a call to the mind to consider a thing or idea or
emotion…it could be trauma, hope, knowledge.
Many people take actions to try and stop it or ignore it. Many
constantly listen to it.” – PS
For more info:
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