Eastern Skies, Western Eyes, Map's second EP for Velvet Blue, finds them sounding even more like Starflyer 59--unsurprising, since both vocalist/guitarist Josh Dooley and drummer Joseph Esquibel do time in Starflyer, and since Jason Martin himself produces the EP. They're far from a rip-off though; they've got their own sound and develop it nicely in the fourteen minutes presented here.
The EP starts off with "Lazy Susan Serenade," a fine instrumental that's probably the record's highlight. That's not to say that the other songs are substandard, though--the band pulls off their tales of heartbreak with fine lounge aplomb, and if Dooley's vocals are a bit incomprehensible at times, they're also pleasant and fit the band's sound quite well. If I do have a complaint, it's that the EP ends way too early, and actually seems to break off right in the middle of "Crash."
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