Melodic pop/rock from Khalid Hanifi, the former leader of Map of the World and Kiss Me Screaming, co-produced by Tim Patalan (Sponge, The Fags).

14 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Modern Rock, POP: Power Pop



Details:
You're reading this 'cause you haven't heard Maypops yet and you have to.

This Ann Arbor, Michigan-based band is the latest oeuvre of 6 foot, 4 inch, Scottish/Afghan song wrangler Khalid Hanifi; Fourteen undeniably hooky, pop-rock gems distinguished from the seething masses by quirky, inventive lyrics that keep you guessing long enough to deliver their one-two punch when you least expect it.

You're reading this 'cause somebody told you to check this guy out.
Fair enough.

If the name is familiar, that's because Khalid and sister Sophia were the forces behind Map of the World, one of the most popular bands ever to sprout from Ann Arbor's fertile soil and make it all the way to a deal with Atlantic Records. A Billboard Magazine review of the band's CD urged listeners to "delve deeply into this blessed event." Many listeners, coast to coast, did just that and came back for more.

But deals and bands share the same evanescent qualities of music and mystery and that was then and this is now and the word is official: Khalid Hanifi is back with a slew of new songs and a cadre of new compatriots (co-founding member and bassist Oni Werth, co-producer Tim Patalan (Sponge/The Fags), drummers Vinnie Dombrowski (Sponge) and Ron Pangborn, keyboardist Chris Benjey and guitarists Brian Delaney and Ann Arbor legend George Bedard) who pour their talents into the pot.

And you're reading this 'cause maybe you want to know something about the songs.

Maypops' debut CD, Spirits of Agnew, brims with winners like Blackeyed Susan, The Bloom Is Off The Rose and Hangman, in which melody is king, incisive, curious poetry its willing consort, and scrappy irreverence plays court jester. Perhaps only Scottish/Afghan youth reared on The Beatles in Saline, Michigan can come up with lyrics like:

"And if you think I need you, that is correct, my sweet placebo."

Placebos may be sweet, but for more information about the real thing, contact www.khalidhanifi.com.