A Thousand Heys

VINYL FORMAT. Jangly guitars, fuzz-laden bass lines, percussion and undeniable pop hooks collide with a youthful exuberance to great effect on A Thousand Faces, the debut full-length album from UK foursome Mazes. Brash, bratty, and incredibly catchy, the album - recorded on an old lightship moored on the Thames! - collects a slew of new songs, as well as newly recorded versions of tracks that first appeared on their much talked-about back catalog of 7-inches, splits and cassette releases.

Alan McGee-approved Mazes built a following touring their homeland with bands like Pens and Wavves before going on to share stages with Deerhunter, Thee Oh Sees, Sic Alps, Dum Dum Girls Crocodiles, and others. The quartet quickly built a following, as much for their enthusiastic live shows as for their impressive output of material and influence on the flourishing London DIY scene (two band members run tiny labels) that has also fostered the likes of Male Bonding and Spectrals.

Mazes are the collision point for Kinks/Big Star tunefulness, the raw, infectious attack of the best Buzzcocks singles, and the occasional mellow meander a la early Pavement - but a list of influences as long as the day can't capture the smile-inducing, foot-tapping immediacy of A Thousand Heys.