Quirky Love Interest

Gotta rep that upstate NY lovin. Two piece instrumental math unit Quirky Love Interest are pretty flipping close to dropping what I believe will be an extremely lovely album. There are a few videos floating around on the interwebs of their live stuff which is pretty clutch but this play through by the drummer shows some really cohesive songwriting and inventive riffery. The duo's catch a lot of heat from me but I'm resting easy that Quirky will be forcing me to rethink things a bit.

All of Them Witches

    This is a long overdue post for me.  All of Them Witches are a duo hailing from Buffalo NY, which as it happens isn't too too far from my general living zone. Soundwise we are talking some tap-heavy guitar work that twists and turns, with complementary drumming that supports the guitars with just the right amount of technicality.
    
    Math duos are always tricky for me to evaluate, since a lot of progressive music banks on how busy or full a composition can be, so obviously fewer performers can be detrimental. That said, Witches have a few things in their flavor to avoid being stale. Compositionally, there's great flow between sections in each song, avoiding the stunted transitions that trap many similiar groups. Overall, their sound smacks of a minimal nature while still sounding incredibly full. That might not make much sense on paper, but give it a listen and maybe it'll hit you.
   
   I will be having the distinct pleasure of seeing them this Friday and have been looking forward to finally catching a show by them. Also looking forward to some possible new tunage? A boy can hope.

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All of Them Witches

Calcius Repton - Futari (2010)

Breath in the majestic sounds of two piece bass and drums. Think you know what it sounds like already? consider that you are very possibly wrong and dive in. What we have on display is some incredibly deft bass guitar playing that seems to take much joy in blurring the lines between prog, math and funk. Great twists and turns to be had here as well some pretty melodically memorable moments. What about the drums? no worries because they are totally on par ripping up the landscape. A must have for any fan of highly technical music.  Stellar.

Cordyceps - Fragmented Structures (2011)

Cordyceps is a Belgian two-piece that marries some interesting elements. Electronic music along side live guitars.  The rhythms are mathy but you could also argue that its more of a case of glitch and breakcore with some pleasant guitars. Dont be fooled though because this is worth the time to check into. You could easily dismiss this as gimmicky, as surface descriptions smack of such things.  Its not new by any means but its different enough and done with enough love that it deserves its spot certainly. Have to say as well that as is not usually the case the spoken word samples help add a great dynamic.




cordyceps

Marylin-Rambo - Baleine à Nourrir (2012)

A promising French duo that doesn't fall into the typical pit falls of hard rock duo's. Metal, Math, Punk and good old fashioned RockNRoll blenderized for your listening pleasure.

marylin-rambo

Quadrupède - Quadrupède (2013)

French electro math duo. 

Starts off pretty unassuming but give it a moment and trust that things just

get better and better. Incredible balance of electronic elements mixed with interesting post rock builds and the beating heart of math rock. Some genuinely unique sounds here along with some stellar percussion. A favorite of the moment actually.

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Quad 

One Lick Less - & we could be quiet

Been sitting on this duo for a bit. Not for lack of enjoyment but just for processing sake. This as a lot of my posts lately has some questionable math validity however traces do crop up. This two dude affair is a mix of moody post-rock, improv, indie rock and some folk rock style guitar riffs.  The BPM's on display here are more of the slow core variety however this should deter no one. Very clear old school 90's flavors as well.  Some vocals as well. Check er

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Pneu - Highway to Health (2011)

Frantic, crazy, heavy chaos with some serious riffs, Pneu is 2 dudes from France who can play the shit out of their instruments. Really glad they had this album done by Kurt Ballou who just turns everything to gold. Really heavy gold.  A French hardcore/punk version of Hella, they are by far a worthy listen.

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HTH

Cleft - Whale Bone (2012)

Off the path for a bit but I'm back on it to shell out the amazing Duo that is Cleft.

This is not your ordinary ram and jam rock duo. These gents from Manchester rip shirt up with wide powerful strokes and you will never question their motives. From a songwriting standpoint they can command their way around town surprisingly well for two people. Even when things cool it you'll never find yourself wishing for anything extra. I get a bit of an Adebisis Shank vibe in over all drive and pedal usage but if thats the comparison then props to them. Worthy of an extended ear listen.

whale bone