After-Math - Asunder (UK)
One man Post-rock and pretty blunt with the delivery.
Drums at times seem to try and stick their head above clouds with
some plodding off time behavior. Nothing offensive just wanted
something more.
A sample heavy IDM / elctronic inspired tribute to the tragic events
Nothing math oriented that I could gather but seems respectful in execution.
Ella Vader - Sad Flower Fuzz Party (Virginia)Spacey ambient punk music covered in reverb.
Drum flubs dont seem to matter much on these proceedings so draw your own conclusion from that.
No math..zero. btw.
Den Tapes Label
Often a label will post up all of their collective efforts en-masse and
we seem to have something similar here. While Wooky, Happy Times Sad Times, Porn Bloopers and Choke the Pope are tagged under math rock among others...I cant for the life of me understand why most of it is indie rock alt and I'm not bothering to go through each.
Retrospector - Creeper (Washington)Guitars offer up a shoegazy pop rock with some old school 90's indie rock vibes.great structures running through this as well. Drums happily give a complex bent but only when its called for in the music. Vocals are not the strongest but they are charming in their own way and do add a layer to the music. Charming enough to have me coming back to try and dig further into exactly what i am loving so much. The chord progressions themselves are pretty interesting ping ponging between something pretty, jagged / discordant or even blurring the line. strong contender.
I read the tags.. and a tear falls... "nu metal".. enough to shock my senses on this very morning. yes there is rapping.. and metal inspired riffage but I wouldnt say it falls into the dangerous beast that we are familiar with. It however doesn't raise itself above the tags to provide anything outside. "La Manera" gives us a moment of clarity with just singing and honestly if this was the vibe.. id be way more down.
Rowdy, noisy music covered in sludge and blanketed in punk. Didn't stick out much beyond that.
Strobes - Brokespeak (UK)I would think it would be nearly impossible for me to dislike something a member of Three Trapped Tigers was a part of This one track peek is a pretty sensational look inside this three piece. I will also attach a small asterisk beside that because this treds A LOT of the same water TTT does. Electro prog vibes. will be interested to see if we get some added flavors with a ep/full length
Ceol - Ceol (UK)
Well produced post-rock alt math that flirts with some progressive structures as well. All done in a great little package that doesn't directly ape anyone I can think of offhand. Some nice rhythmic surprises as well as a varied vocal approach really has me highly engaged with what this group is laying down I will say when things calm a bit on some tracks it loses a bit of steam. Though with 3 songs its unclear if we have a full understanding.
3 piece unit that creates instrumental math rock plain and simple... well not so simple I suppose. They do inject some varied sounds and keep things interesting and engaging. Sure a lot of familiar
math dynamics are here but they are dressed to impress and give a bit of an off kilter spin which I always appreciate. New ideas come and go and guitars and drums are herky jerky moving from one section to the next. but please... change the name..for the love of god.
This is the one and only disparaging thing I will say about this group and lets get it out of the way first. The name... guys... please. I could honestly write a whole college thesis on the NEED for a non-obscure name that people can remember. On the insanely plus side this group is god damn fantastic. Its a perfectly balanced
mixture of alt post hardcore and post-rock influenced math. Instrumental as well which can be a hinderance if the music is not engaging enough..which I promise is not the case. This group does just as great a job with complete all out bangers (the lovingly titled "Pffffffff") as slowed down post-rock feeling songs ("Nicolino").
Completely happy and surprised by this group that the album seriously ends too soon. Had to go back for further helpings.
Complete mood setter...comfortable and close, yet there is this air of dred that just hangs outside. post rock..at times and depending on the song. often things seem to organically be brought in and out of the songs I would say more experimental composition crossed with some heavy ambience. Songs are fresh and rarely repeat ideas and use a wide variety of sounds and instrumentation to get the point across. Song lengths are perfect... conveying an idea and then leaving before things get out of hand. Vocals? hushed but pulled up front and certainly not across all songs. I cant shake the feeling however that some of these are more "ideas" than executed planned works. Still enjoyed this a lot.
Sort of has a dark eastern vibe mixed with heavy tones and a metal tinge. I'm not sure I completely understand the entire picture of what is trying to be accomplished here with one song released so far.
Ramshackle lo-fi experimental pop rock. not catching the math or prog that this is clearly tagged as. I suppose its charming in an offbeat way but doesn't elevate itself beyond that.
A nice snap shot of a 2 piece that really has been at it a bit without (in my opinion) being raised to the level of other math duo's. Why? im not sure. There music is complex while remaining accesible. Strong drumming and a solid sense of structure that runs through all of their compositions. Never staying in one place to long almost as an act of survival. I will say that I think their live set captures more of their spirit than most of their recorded efforts and enjoyed this a lot.
Recorded literally about an hour away from where I live (Upstate NY Represent!). A three piece in this instance that has a strong indie rock base with added math rock placed carefully around. The drums particularly unleash during moments of odd structure but remain restrained when needed. Its a lot of give and take and certainly doesn't breath the air of needless complexcity of some groups. I do think however that the real star of the show here is the boy girl harmonies...damn they are something else. For my money this is a spot that all current groups can take notes
from...proper..well thought out..vocals.
Spaze Warlords - 509 (Germany)
If this music is in fact improvised (which it doesn't sound to be) id be astonished. But no less great without. Fairly engaging instrumental post-rock / post metal that holds your interest for the time of the album but the memory fades as often post-rock will without hooks to bring you back for more.
and the album of the week...is...
Fox Lake - Late Again.. (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
FOX LAKE!!! FOX LAKE!! ok so truth be told I am a ridiculous super fan of Viridians and when they exploded into a million pieces I was heart broken. Some would join up with prolific math-popster Alexander Litinsky (am overcast) to form Grand Beach. Stagger start creation of Fox Lake with the other Viridian members. So we have been offered an emo/posthardcore hybrid with some cool math rock twists and vocals to sweeten the deal. This second EP finds them in much the same place they were with the first. Guitars fly all over the flipping place and its a solid time for sure. Both are a must listen for anyone even remotely interested in the genre.
