Flower Coronet - Circumstances Revised (2013)

So I'd dare say this wouldn't fit anyone strict definition of math but the influences are pretty clear. 

What we have here is a one man project that is based in folk. The sauce starts getting spicy with the heavy introduction of a lot of odd timing, experimentation and some interesting vocal melodies. 

Its a recipe for some wonderful and unique music. Not to be missed

 

Chinook - EP

Repost:
In the time between this post and now I have realized a few interesting things concerning Chinook's EP. This EP has grown on me like a spreading wild fire. The melodies have latched into my brain in such a fashion that has surpassed what I initially gave them credit for. Those guitar's seriously never waste a moment. The drums almost steal the show as well. While not altogether unconventional certainly both convey a sense of fun and serious ass rocking that seems to be lacking in a lot of post rock. I frequently blast this very loudly in my car while air drumming around town a favorite past time of mine. It's pretty much bullshit that more people aren't talking about these guys. Please if you didn't the first time around do yourself the pleasure.
______________________________________________________________

Now we are in about the same realm of math as far as feeling but this Michigan quartet are far more melodic than my previous post. Some of the breakdowns here are really brilliant for math rock this driving. Its something that really hits a chord emotionally speaking so this is not something anyone should be going out of town for. Extremely well crafted indie rock tinged math. Very nicely produced as well which for intricate rock music gives you that much of a leg up.

The Jezebel Spirit - I Hate it Here (2011)

Been following these guys for a bit kinda waiting for them to drop the big one...sigh. Half of the equation has been fulfilled as they are not together any longer but have this release to speak of. Thankfully its a straight looker. 

Aside from a fairly terrible band name these gents have some impressive pedigree behind them. Parts of "Bearcubbin" and "Duck. Little Brother, Duck!" are represented in this group, so you can only imagine that something good would come of this. 

This is post-rock that doesn't keep its fur lined winter parka on for a moment and yet has a great ambient and atmospheric quality to it. On the flip side there are some great mathy moments but really its a great showing of progressive instrumental post rock. A lot of really stellar ideas this is one not to miss at all.

Why more peeps haven't been slinging this is beyond my comprehension

Splendid.

Brownie Mountain - Space Hardware

First post for me as new plenty of swords member so hello all!

Hopefully I have something good for you in the form of this five piece hailing from Chicago. What to expect form these guys? These roll with a energetic sort of blend of instrumental, post and math rock. Think math rock instrumentals with the use of some post-rock structures. Okay so this isn't out for a few days but you can check out two tracks of it already on the camp, where they also have up their previous record (also pretty cool though more post rocky in sounds). If the rest of the ep is a good as the taster tracks all will be good.

Los Piedra - Antiperro (2009)

 

Something pretty fun that certainly wont win any originality awards

post-punk vibe with math

again wont light your house on fire but then again prolly not a good idea anyway.

Midnight Parade / Kitten - split (2011)

quick post of some pretty decent japanese post-hardcore emo mathy bizz.

Druk - Compostélion (2013)

Here's a promise for you, first five seconds of this and you'll be hooked.

Druk are an instrumental math rock band from Mexico.  Surprisingly a three piece for the amount of amazing noise these guys create. Lots of tight turns to be had here folks. Some honest to god hooky alt/post punk/metal tinged riffing from the the stellar guitar work. We can also talk the jazz/prog elements but theres no need to dissect any further as this will hit all of your pleasure centers. Seriously this one caught me on the jaw..wasn't at all prepared but I am loving every minute. Not to worry because these guys never stay in one place for two long. 

Something sounded cool 15 seconds ago? they bring it back 3 minutes later or mutate it a bit. 

Brilliance. Pure. Brilliance.

Highly Recommended

Brother Rutherford- Take Root (2013)

Sibling of no one, Brother Rutherford (also known as Ethan Johnstone, from Night Idea and Houdan the Mystic) just released an LP at the end of March. I do not know much about Brother Rutherford or if there are more albums or EPs by him, nor have I had time to check into his two bands, but I did not want to wait to share his music with everyone.

The music on Take Root is performed largely on acoustic guitar, bass, and drums, and Ethan produces some well written, dynamic songs with a relaxing, atmospheric vibe that still provides the musicianship and cohesion that demand your attention. His drums in particular provide the listener with a very strong sense of the intricate writing and performances that went into the album. I am excited that he shared his music with us, and my first listens to his other work have me raring to write up their own separate reviews.

HIMSELF - SELFLESS (2012)

Just posted a track off this on the Facebook page and decided it wasn't fair for everyone not to fully enjoy this wonderful noise. UK based alt rock math with spoken word sing songy vocals?? 

Honestly there have been some rumblings on these guys around the interwebs and have been a little surprised to not see more. The vocal style is a little ugh how should i say "gonzo"  while not being annoying and adds a nice bit of personality. Not horribly mathy but progressive never the less. these guys can bring the party down to a really tense chill level and raise up some heavy crushing riffs. Certainly to be checked out.

Blastronaut - EP I: We Were Once Cro​-​Magnon (2013)

Something must be going on in the water up north because we are seeing a huge influx of Canadian groups these days. Me likey. 

Any who this is a Toronto group that play a nice alternative bent instrumental math rock. Side elements are what set these guys apart however. There is this almost 90's sounding noise/metal element in the guitar aesthetic but on the whole there is a lot of interesting noodling for your brain to wrap around. The group description lists "improv" and I suppose in more of a live setting that would be more evident. If they mean theres some guitar solo's....hell yea theres a couple crammed in their and that certainly doesn't slow things down at all. The drums are always a "make it break it" affair for me so it comes as no shock within the first 12 seconds that everything is A-OK. They are just the right amount of complex without getting too heady.  Really enjoying this as you should be too.

Plini - Other Things (2012)

 

Plini is a solo project based out of Sydney, Australia. Plini offers to us an amazing three track EP, showcasing an amazingly atmospheric jazz fusion/post-rock/djent sound. The third track, Selenium Forest, while less jazz influenced, is still absolutely amazing (perhaps even the best track on the EP). If you are looking for something a little different (albeit excellent!), give this a shot. I promise you won't think twice about listening to it more than once.

Check 'em out on Facebook and Bandcamp.

Other Things

BRIAN! - BRIAN! I

It's rather lovely when you see a lot of hard work paying off for an individual and his group. BRIAN! is a group from Ithaca NY and play a lovely blend of genres.  At the heart of it all is a clear harkening to classic progressive rock and R.I.O groups. Close behind in the race is our favorite stand by math rock and some experimentation.  Its admirable that the left field throws don't get out of hand and stay pretty grounded for the most part. What is made even more interesting in this three piece is the inclusion of a bassoon player. Which to be honest is done incredibly well and lends an almost modern comp. bent to the whole affair.

When I first saw them play they were a much more experimental duo with just guitar and bassoon. They had a lot of great idea's to be sure but still had some thing's to figure out. The drums were the final key to fleshing out the song's and its obvious a lot of time was put in to making them click just right. Gotta say its a lot of fun and there really is something for everyone into this sort of biz. Can't say there is much going right now that is on this vibe..all the better. Wonderful

Plenty of Swords: Logo/Banner Contest

NEW LOGO/BANNER FOR PLENTY OF SWORDS

CONTEST

 *This is a new area that we are starting up so check back in regularly for 

different types of contests and promotions :)*

So it's pretty simple....we need to replace our banner with something new and exciting and we would like you (our readers) to create one for us.

GUIDLINES?
There are no guidelines for exactly what we are looking for but if you frequent the page and have seen our past and present logo's you already have a bit of a sense of the styles we enjoy.

END DATE?
  We will take submissions through the end of May.

PRIZES?
Yes there are. We are all throwing in various musical related items either from bands
we are in or from our personal collections. I know I myself will be putting up some legit vinyl
to give away among other things.

Please send your submission's via our email account:
plentyofswords(at)gmail.com

Koala - TL;DR (2013)

The actual title of this release is "We are Like the Spider. We Weave our Lives and then Move Along in it. We are Like the Dreamer. Who Dreams and then Lives in the Dream."  This is a most unfortunate title.  Egregiously long titles are pretty hard to pull off, especially when the intention doesn't appear to be humor.

Koala plays a pretty ambitious brand of post-rock.  For a band so lavish with words, the compositions are surprisingly tight.  Layers of harmonized guitar snake through polite bass grooves and smartly-executed drums.  The tunes can be somewhat academic and polished, but it works well for the group - they're majorly enjoyable to listen to.  The songs are understated but kinetic - different parts are constantly popping in and out, and things never get boring.  Super clean production and instrumental proficiency allow some interesting timbres to speak up.

Koala has shown marked improvement with this EP.

Drunken Forest - EP (2013)

I'm not even 10% sure I know exactly how to start this. Baffling I know. This was posted fairly recently on the math rock reddit page for those wondering how I stumbled upon this.

So we have here the work of one individual that is very obviously in love with a wide range of music. The one thing that does run throughout is the obvious love of Math rock and its rhythms. Have to throw in the progressive tag in as well for the odd breaks and runs. What I appreciate most though is the sense of experimentation that runs throughout these pieces. From one moment to the next you will be genuinely surprised and delighted, and it takes a lot for me to say it and mean that. There's horn samples, Traditional spanish guitar breaks, straight up tech metal and the icing on the cake.... A Fensler Films GI Joe PSA. Be still my beating heart. LOVE THIS <3

How My Children Interpret "Math Rock"

From my albeit limited understanding of what this blog is "supposed" to be about I feel it important to share as many aspects of this genre as possible. Our primary goal here is to showcase new and exciting talent. However it is always important to reflect on not only what this whole genre means to us ...but also to those who will come after us.

My kids are aware of math rock in passing. They've listened to it before, but ive never sat down and discussed exactly what it was they were listening to. At their ages ( 9, 7 and 5) ((my 2 year old was alseep)) I don't feel like genre classification should be something for them to think about just yet. For the most part I let them make their own choices on the music they listen to. We all have mp3 players in the house and as the soul parent responsible for the music adding and subtracting (my wonderful wife leaves these issues to me) I do slip in things that I am interested in that I feel they would also like/think would be cool.

Olde Pine - The Steve French EP (2013)

Emo anyone? well not exactly.  Olde Pine have that familiar scream based early 90's feel. What interests me is that from time to time these guys do run away into some pretty catchy rhythmic breaks.I wouldn't call it "math rock" but it perked my ear holes to be sure. Check er out if your into that sort of thing.

Interview with Alicia and Mike of Oshwa

So you may remember a band that made quite a stir in the community with their release of their song "Old Man Skies."  That was Oshwa. Their distinct sound has been described in a lot of ways, it's even been referred to as "butterfly math pop". They are currently working on an LP that I am highly anticipating and I was lucky enough to get in contact with Alicia Walter for an interview with her and Mike both. And wow, let me tell you, I couldn't have asked for a better first Interview.

Minoans - Linear A (2011) + Linear B (2012)

Minoans are an electrifying trio hailing from the English Midlands. They come bearing two gifts, in the form of (1) somewhat short (but definitely sweet) album and (1) EP. Inside, you'll find just under 41 minutes of mathy emo goodness in total, complete with beautiful, resonant lyricism and that majorly great math rock instrumental work that you all seem to love so much. If you don't mind unique, poetic lyrics and vocals that are somehow seen by some poor, misguided souls as odd-sounding, (Come on, people! Unique is a much better word.) you're in for one hell of a listening session. What're you waiting for? Dig in.

You can find them on the Facebook as well as their own website.

Linear A
Linear B

Viridians - [sp] arrows EP

It literally just occured to me that I have been listening to this three song EP on repeat....and enjoying every flipping second. This Canadian group has the post-hardcore pop lite math thing thang down pat. Instruments are just the right amount of twitchy and complex with memorable chord progressions.  Its odd because they sound a bit familiar but more in an almost nostalgic way.  Compound that with some incredibly powerful vocals (including harmonies) and well shut the gate its a done deal. Do yourselves a favor and end your weekend with something nice and refreshing.