atrabillions - demo (2013)

Whoosh badoosh forgive my absence, I have been in the middle of some very heavy family medical stuff.  I am here to present you guys with a band that I actually just stumbled on not too long ago but have already very much been enjoying. atrabillions are an instrumental jazz prog-math three piece from Sydney Australia. What immediately caught my ears were the piano that finishes the drum and guitar triad....yep no bass. Which is fine and isn't lacking as the piano seems to at times fill that roll other times not.  The surprising bit is this is just a three song demo for these cats and they already sound like incredibly polished works. If you peak their influences its actually a farily decent smashing of these groups. Take a more structural driven "Tangled Thoughts of Leaving" a side of  "Mouse on the Keys" and a sprinkling of guitar business from Tera Melos..not much but just a smidge for flavor. It should be said that these guys are flying their own plane and that everyone here should get a great big kick out of this. Looking forward to hearing more.

Ilya - Mutyuma

Curve ball coming right to your faces peeps. Ilya is a japanese group that plays a very singular style of music. Truthfully very little of it has to do with math rock... sue me. That does not mean it lacks in pure musical excellence. This stuff is a mix of classical music styled instrumentation, post-rock, metal and progressive math. The way these pieces fit together is the true star here because under less capable hands this could be an ugly ugly mess. HIGH REC's.


Link in comments :)

Healthy Fears - The Dreaded Diamond (2011)

Piano Jazz Folk
Female Vox
Mathy Rhythms
Fairly Complex Drums

Walkin that line hard. Certainly more folk based but some pretty great stuff. bit of a change up. Anything up there sound neato? eh? well give it a shot. Can come across straight forward in places but hey I'm all about grabbing the cat on the limb, what? more coffee? yes please.

The Dreaded Diamond

Haisuinonasa

A band seemingly at odds. Shifting from lulling atmospherics, glitch breaks to breakneck math rock and everything in between. Who better to provide this interesting amalgam then haisuinonasa a band hailing from our favorite island nation of precision math rock. Have to say when things get slow...I get sleepy with these guys. When the tempo gets ramped up you may not have a band that is this insanely tight again this year, staggering really.

想像と都市の子供

Dobutsu no Karada (2012)

Denver - Joan Rivers (EP) 2012

Another Flip-tastic math flecked release for you folks so pull your socks up.  Denver is a group that despite their hilariously hair cut malfunctioned cover are an incredibly serious band when it comes to the tunes. With three songs they certainly waste no time getting down to the nitty. This is some chilled out yet musically complex indie rock with a serious crush on math rock (its a reciprocal crush)  What I found with these guys to be a stand out attribute are that these songs are structured very intelligently. Your not dragged along so much as each turn and twist of the sections just make so much sense i actually fist pumped at one point.....ok twice. Also of note THE VOCALS! this is not some last second add on or that their best friends brother wanted to sing on a few songs. Honestly its done tastefully and reminds me of something you'd hear in some really amazing indie pop rock. The fact that the singing is used only when needed yet still remains such a huge presence is more than a couple feathers in their caps. Lastly the instrument choices on display are numerous, AGAIN without clubbing you over the head. I've said this before but a lot of groups will add a "non rock" instrument to "color" their pieces and it ends up sounding forced. It goes without saying but the piano, strings and (marimba?) really flesh out these beautiful pieces. O and by the way this is their first release, pretty surprising with the level of polish on the ground. After all that do I really need to say "hit the link" wait I guess I pretty much just did.


Joan Rivers EP

Mr. Maps

WHY ISN'T ANYONE TALKING ABOUT THESE GUYS?!

Mr. Maps are an Australian instrumental band that focuses on some sort of orchestral math rock lite.  Highly calculated and expertly produced, this is an excellent release that gives just as much room for piano and stringed instruments as the usual rock arsenal.  A pretty unique release as far as im concerned in the realm of odd timed flim flam.

Wire Empire (2011)

Tangled Thoughts of Leaving - Tiny Fragments

         Jazz-core Math-core Manti-core

Australian *Jazzcore? YES PLEASE. These guys can be brutal as anything yet easily tone it down at a moments notice. Ridiculous technical skill showcased here with varying styles being represented.  Its really nice to see the piano also brought so much to the front of the pack and not cowering in the background. Call it what you will this is some amazing music.

*jazz cross bred with **grindcore.

**metal that incorporates down tuned guitars, fast tempo's and ***blast beats.

***an extremely fast  sixteenth note figure played on the drums

Tiny Fragments