Phantom Tollbooth - Power Toy (1988)

I understand December is typically for yearly lists but you won't catch one on this site from me. Possibly a few albums that have had staying power but nope sorry take your pitchfork elsewhere for a list. So I'll do you one better and reflect back  into the early years. Truly not enough people these days want to speak about formative bands in math rock these days. One of many such groups is the interestingly named Phantom Tollbooth (after a famous childrens book...if your not familiar its a good read for anyone). Extremely active and prolific in their relatively short life span (1984-1988)  these guys threw down some fairly left field music for the time. A generous mix of post-punk, noise, art rock and the ever important jazz element made Tollbooth a crazy fast ever shifting group to nail down. If that description sounds a bit like your used to thats because at times it certainly smacks of math rock.

Take a listen to the song "Crash Mode" and you'll begin to see what I mean. They were contemporaries of all the hallowed groups from the 80's (Sonic Youth, Mission of Burma, Minutemen ect) and were on the excellent Homestead label (Big Black, Bastro, Seam, Dinosaur Jr. among many other wonderful groups) "Power Toy" was their last album in 1988 and is arguably their best which would be a great starting point if your just coming into them. Robert Pollard (of Guided by Voices) famously commissioned the nixing of all vocals from Power Toy and recorded his own with new lyrics with it being called "Beard of Lightning" in 2003...strange.

The Slaughterhouse 5 - Alban B. Clay (2013)

Alban B. Clay (Name Dat Price)

Acey brought this group to my (and everyone else's) attention last month upon the release of their second single, Fish Pt. 2–3 (Actual Fish), which I have been abso-fucking-lutely addicted to, along with their previous single, Light Bulbs (A K.M.R.J. Cover). I have no real reference for how to describe this music, though Acey's genre-classification of "math-pop" is appropriate, and it's not like they're doing something literally indescribable or unique. But the execution is what makes this album special in a deliriously unhinged way: from its conceit as a concept album about an artist and his pretensions, to the way everything is simultaneously dirty with distortion and yet sparkly clean in harmonic precision. 

The vox (as identified in the previous post) are probably the element most enticing, with their dramatic ambitions, layered harmonies, male/female duets, and genuinely surreal lyrics about who-the-fuck-knows. But while the instrumentation is never hitting those technical highs that most folks expect from the math-tag, the songwriting and performance are top-notch through and through, with an abundance of style.

Highly recommended, especially for fans of Mister Metaphor, Hawks & Oxen, Mew, and the Olivia Tremor Control.

Snort - Ron (2013)

I've been sitting on this a bit because im a bit torn. In the span of a song there a many different ideas and rhythms.  It ends up feeling a bit like idea's are thrown at the wall and what happens to stick..sticks. The more and more I take the time to listen though there is a lot of heart and that honestly is the deciding factor sometimes.  The restless nature of the band does lend itself well to not being pegged to hard on any one area. off kilter art rock cozy's up nicely with post rock style math which in turn moves to some more straight forward rocknroll (though not often)

Have to say that the main riff in "Option Tank" gets stuck in my head A LOT. Its so deliciously angular yet anthemic.

snort

An Anderson - Parts (2013)

Let me start by saying that Art rock is sadly not represented enough in math rock these days. 

An Anderson perfectly bridge discordant guitars and post-punk sensibilities into the herky jerk rhythms we crave.  

The point of failure in most art rock is cranking the guitar knob to "annoyingly abrasive". 

An Anderson balance some pretty inspired riffage with pop undertones to avoid this problem altogether. The post-punk vibe going on always lends itself well to labyrinthine structures and so ends the other piece to this pretty incredible pie. 

parts