Maps for Sleep is the solo recording project of Catherine Raap, not your typical indie rocker. A 50 something year old working mom and all around dilettante who can’t stop crafting catchy little pop songs (that sometimes rock out a little) in her home.
Maps for Sleep’s latest release “Striptease + 2” is a 3 song collection exploring personal and societal obsession with celebrity culture. The lead song likens the celebrity to a stripper, revealing themselves to a public who is never satisfied until all has been exposed.
Raap was a member of Bellingham, WA trio Virginia Creeper in the 1990’s. Virginia Creeper released a 7” on their label Elsinor Records and opened for acts such as Modest Mouse, 764-Hero, and Ben Gibbard’s Pinwheel. Virginia Creeper drew comparisons to early Cannanes.
Raap’s solo efforts under the moniker Turnpike in the 90’s garnered personal praise from F.M. Cornog (East River Pipe) and comparisons by press to Lou Barlow. She previously released an EP as Maps for Sleep in 2010 entitled “Timid Pop Songs for the Perpetually Shy, Vol I,” a collection of older songs re-recorded for the post 4-track era.
“Sometimes it’s kind of what Lou Barlow might sound like if he was a female.”-Indie File
“In the end, the album made me feel kind of sleepy, but in a good way. That after-Thanksgiving-gorge-fest kind of sleepy. The warm, fuzzy, ready to lay down and dream good dreams kind of sleep.”-What’s Up