Excelling across jangly rock, power-pop, and folk pursuits, Catching Phrases is the memorable new album from Drawing Mazes. It thematically traces revelations that emerge from ordinary days, with relationships and fleeting encounters becoming catalysts for reflection and change. Rather than seeking definitive answers, the album lingers in the uncertainty of life, finding significance in overlooked moments and the people who can unexpectedly reshape how we understand ourselves.
“Take Care of Yourself” opens the album with a jangly rock charm, pairing those caressing guitar layers with the artist’s introspective delivery. A relatable initial quality exudes, showing a quest to escape one’s pride and embrace personal freedom, echoed especially in the track’s chorus, where twangy guitar elements join alongside a soaring melodic inflection. The “you are free to…” reassuring refrain delights in its hooky vibrancy, sounding right at home on a playlist alongside names like Teenage Fanclub, The Sundays, and Alvvays.
The album’s title track emerges next, maintaining jangly warmth while injecting a heartfelt string quality. “Catching phrases every day, even on my birthday,” lyrics ring out, asking “in time will I see this through?” and traversing the flows of life through both constant routines and sudden changes of direction. It is a brief yet wholly impactful track, ending affectingly in the “will I be with you?” pining. “You’re All That I Want To Be” furthers that sense of adoration, also bolstered by strings amidst a twangier guitar presence, arriving at a lovable title-touting chorus and inquiring what it will take to “stay on track” to that pursuit of love; twinkling piano and strings inject thereafter with replay-inducing allure.
Elsewhere, “Drifting in Strides” struts a mellower disposition in its trickling guitars and ethereal harmonies. “Stepping outside again, a world in my mind,” the track delivers, capturing the rush of thoughts that often arise when confronting anything from small, seemingly insignificant moments to more ardent occurrences. “Can You Give Me Energy Today” then shifts into a folk-friendly aura with acoustic strums and morning-set lyricism, remarking “too much to get done” before the title-referencing beckoning, envisioning support like a caffeinated kick as airy synths enter the mix.
The ensuing “Holding the Cloud” compels with a bouncy, infectious bass pulse alongside shimmering guitar jangles and cohesive strings. “When you are down, take me with you, I’ll hold the cloud,” the lyrics reassure, continuing to revel thematically in the power of aid and a sympathetic ear. “Fixated” comes next, gorgeous in its plucky guitar tones and balmy woodwinds while bringing back the morning-laden initial imagery. An excellent rock-minded shift shows around the midpoint, where electric guitar captivates in its charismatic momentum.
Album finale “Pockets of Time” then embraces lyrical relatability, set within a subdued single-layered guitar. Perspectives on the pressures of the fleeting nature of “pockets of time” and the fragility of modern friendship—where “people don’t randomly call as much these days”—turn into encouragement in the face of seemingly eroding relationships: “Start a new book, walk in the woods, do what you can to love…” Catching Phrases is a consistently insightful, melodically impactful success of an album from Drawing Mazes.
Catching Phrases releases on October 6th.
