Maple Mars main man Rick Hromadka has tie-dyed his skinny tie as of late, as his new project is alot more psychedelic and moodier than that of his old band, Double Naught Spies. Hromadka makes this transition with ease on Welcome To Maple Mars, delivering twelve (plus bonus track) sturdy psych-pop tunes. Fans of Cloud Eleven will love the dreamy ballads "Fly" and "Afterglow", (with Cloud Eleven's Rick Gallego singing background on these tracks) while others, like "All Brand New", add a little jangle and "Souvenir" is spiked with a Guided By Voices styled wall of guitars. Hromadka reveals a tender side on both "When Atlas Falls" and the beautiful sparsely arranged "Midsummer Day Dream". Only "Perfect Song", "Absolute Zero" and the aforementioned, cheeky bonus track will remind longtime fans of his old work. An admirable, groundbreaking disc indeed!