"Manual Systems" leads Mazes off: It has vocal melodies inspired by Californian '70s sunshine and The Byrds and a plodding bass line adds alt-country rhythms to the formula. "Song For Luke" wraps up Mazes' self-titled debut as the band cross-breeds the flightly indie-pop of Trembling Blue Stars with a folk-pop stability. Between the two, another nine songs bounce between those two blends of influences. It'll make you think Mazes is a band without much of a plan.

It is a band without a plan -- by plan, actually. The Chicago band, which borrows Edward Anderson and Caroline Donovan from the 1900s, has a thing for a lot of stuff: The Tall Dwarfs, British bed-sit pop, the '90s Midwestern underground and proudly lo-fi recording techniques figure prominently among those. Deliberation and careful consideration, though, aren't on the list, let alone near its top. The trio (rounded out by Charles D'Autremont) is about spontaneity, fluid arrangements and capturing a moment on tape, dashing out songs in a one-night writing-recording process, or, in some instances, rescuing them from demo-take oblivion years after they were born. Both ways work pretty well for the trio.

Those methods might make for an honest look into Mazes' songwriting, but it's not the route to the most stable album you'll hear. "I Have Laid in the Darkness of Doubt" goes into alt-country territory by route of Ryan Adams' basic melodies. "Face Down on Forest Roads" could be a forgotten Lucksmiths song if it weren't for the country-rock lead guitar that smacks of Northern Californian country-rock, and the organs in "Cat State Comity" nip a bit of garage-rock soul without any of its rambunctious energy. Even the brief instrumental tune "Gas's Blacklight Village" is a banjo tune star-crossed with indie folk melodies.

Much like its name, Mazes will leave you circling back, wandering and trying to figure out the least indirect route to enjoy this album. Also much like its name, whether or not you find that exercise entertaining or frustrating is probably a matter of taste and personality.