Over the past two years doing The Math Lab, I’ve come across hundreds of albums, countless bands, dozens of EPs, and more singles than you can count. Since my first show in May of 2015, I’ve accrued over 60 gigabytes of math rock and noise rock spanning the last decade. While I’ve played almost the entirety of the collection, many of these albums haven’t seen the light of radio airplay in many months, if not the better part of a year. To celebrate two years of math and almost 100 shows on air, I’ve decided to peruse my selections and pick out some of the hottest albums and do a quick little review for each one. Who knows, maybe I’ll do another one of these in a few months. I’ve got a lot of great music, and I’d love to share it with you wonderful people. The albums are presented in no particular order, and I don’t have any #1 favorite (they’re all pretty freaking awesome). ENJOY.
1) ¡UH! – Andriu
Andriu, the second album by Chilean math rockers ¡UH!, is a tour de force of international math rock musicianship. While the sound and aesthetic of math rock was cultivated in the United States in the later part of the 20th century, by now the genre has infiltrated pretty much every continent (except Antarctica, of course). A prime example of this musical mutation is ¡UH!; one of South America’s math rock gems. While maintaining an undeniably mathy sound, Andriu manages to drag in aspects from traditional Chilean music to make something really special.
Favorite tracks: Dos, Cinco
2) Colours – Synesthesia
Hailing from the South Korea, Colours is a three piece math rock band with quite a substantial discography. However, their album Synesthesia stands out from the rest because of its unifying conceptual theme of relating each song to an individual color. While it’s not a terribly original idea, Colours executes this series of nine songs masterfully, with each track directly relating to a different color. This leads to a variety of tracks that almost sound like they were written by different bands. Synesthesia is a by the book classic math rock album. It’s twangy, it’s twingly, it’s soft and hard at the same time, and it’s something that will leave you a little confused in the end.
Favorite tracks: Blue, Beige
Math rock bands traditionally draw upon post-punk, emo, and hardcore (see American Football, Cap’n Jazz, etc.) influences, which has pretty much been standard since the 90s. The first math rock fans were the weirdo outcasts from the early emo scene (maybe not exactly like that, but you get it), so naturally, twanged out sad music was what influenced early math rockers. Fast forward almost two decades, and you have an exploding world of influence that has drastically changed every genre from math rock to acid jazz (thank you, Internet). A band from Leipzig, Germany has stamped their name on this new face of math rock as Lingua Nada: an unstoppable, loud, and noisy band that is nothing to mess with. Rather than harping on the popular influences of the past, Lingua Nada turned to metal, post-hardcore, and noise to craft this delicious EP, Shapeshift. It’s angry, fun, and pretty spectacular.
Favorite tracks: Ultimate Black Metal, Naphead
4) Nimitta – Melt Joy
Take Hella, put them in a particle accelerator with biological material from The White Stripes, and you have Nimitta. Nimitta is a two piece noise outfit from Chicago with a history full of strange albums, bizarre live shows, and downright challenging music. Their album Melt Joy is one of the first truly hands-down weird albums I’ve played on The Math Lab, but it remains an undeniably intriguing and enticing. Almost every song is a cacophony of shredding guitar and ripping drums; a seemingly endless stream of pummeling distortion and swirling melodies. While it can be difficult to discern exactly what is going on, the simplicity of the instrumentation lends much to the imagination. Fair warning: this album is abstract, uncomfortable, and full of thorns. However, if you’re willing to step outside of your comfort zone for roughly an hour, you’re guaranteed to find something interesting in the depths of Melt Joy. If you’re interested in more from Nimitta, check out this interview I did with one half of the band following the release of their latest album, Samadhi Glasnost.
Favorite tracks: Shelter From Flies, Tendies On the Moon
5) Noxious Foxes – Roxious Soxes
This one is for the jazz fans. Of course, jazz is an essential part of math rock, as jazz is rife with dissonance, uncommon time signatures, and just plain strangeness. However, more often than not, the heart and soul of a jazzy improvisation or breakdown is lost with the odd juxtaposition of squelching emo vocals and obliterated guitar shredding. Noxious Foxes brings it all back with this incredible album, Roxious Soxes. Like any halfway decent math band, puns are a mainstay, along with songs that have no true structure or overarching organization. Noxious Foxes takes the cake in both of these categories. This album is a jazz fueled progressive journey into a land of difficult listening. The traditional jazzy facade is lifted up on every song, revealing the noisy underbelly that makes this album so enticing. There’s not really much more to say about this one, you just have to listen to it.
Favorite tracks: Abraham LinkedIn, Van Halentine’s Day
6) Oculesics – Watching Machine
Prepare to get cerebral with Watching Machine, the second album by Oculesics; a math rock group out of Connecticut that’s been around since 2007. Tera Melos fans take heed, as I’m fairly certain Oculesics and Tera Melos were cultured from the same petri dish in a lab under the New Mexico desert. While that might not necessarily be true, this album embraces the scatter brained energy and that many classic math rock bands like Tera Melos capture. Without embellishing the album too much, I’ll just leave it at this: it’s a damn good collection of songs. Oculesics hits the nail on the head with this one, and any fan of math rock can understand why this album is an essential.
Favorite tracks: Ultra Deep Field, Prune Tracy
7) Quartier Rouge – Les Années Lumières
France is a hotspot for contemporary math rock (there’s two French bands on this list alone!), and there’s a constant stream of fantastic groups that crop up on The Math Lab. Bands like 37500 Yens and Chevreuil come to mind, with unmistakably French instrumentation, jazzy progression, and a distinctly European style of writing. However, Quartier Rouge breaks the mold; or should I say annihilates the mold and sets it on fire. Call it “screamo” if you want, Les Années Lumières is angry and constantly spewing molten riffs that will tear your ears to pieces. Like a Francophone version of Botch, Quartier Rouge is violent and fast; a band with perhaps too much energy at times. Songs range from one minute blisters to extended thrashing jams, with quite a variety in between. For fans of the heavier end of the math rock spectrum, this one is absolutely for you.
Favorite tracks: Le Deluge, Accueillir Le Dauphin
8) ROOM 204 – Maximum Végétation
Well looky here, another French math rock band. Good news for those who thought Quartier Rouge is a little too abrasive, ROOM 204 is a helluva lot more mellow. ROOM 204 is a two piece band with a penchant for jumpy, erratic tunes. Maximum Végétation is a fun album that sounds like summer and will undoubtedly bring a smile to your face (well, one can hope, right?). ROOM 204 keeps the songs pretty short and sweet, which makes this album a quick listen and a great soundtrack to whatever you’re up to during these hot summer months. The instrumentation is simple, but delicious riffs driving rhythms give this album tons of energy. Of course, there are the classic math rock breakdowns, where things get silly and noisy, but it wouldn’t be math rock without them, would it?
Favorite tracks: Six a Dix, Non Cartographie
9) ZA! – MEGAFLOW
Okay, so I might not have been entirely truthful when I said I don’t have a favorite on this list, because this album might take the cake. ZA! Is a two piece group out of Barcelona, Spain with influences from all over the world. MEGAFLOW draws upon countless genres and styles, from African percussion to abstract vocal chanting, to King Crimson-esque prog. This album is a future coated look at traditional music from around the globe. It doesn’t follow one single path, but instead meanders all over the place; capturing a little bit of everything from the best there is. This album is goofy, deft, and frankly way ahead of its time. Very few albums maintain a truly international sound while also being patent math rock. MEGAFLOW is a gem that you do not want to miss.
Favorite tracks: Every damn song is spectacular
10) Zoo Strategies – Zeus Tragedies
Zoo Strategies is a throwback to the early days of The Math Lab, and is a quintessential group to discuss if the topic is math rock (and lo and behold, it is). Zeus Strategies is a beautiful album that doesn’t overextend its boundaries, but at the same time pushes the limits of what math rock can be. Simply put, this is a genuine album packed with dedication and emotion, and is an underground math rock treasure. While sounding professional and very well rehearsed, this album somehow exhibits a truly nascent style and outlook on writing, recording, and performing. Without delving too deep into why this album is on this list, it goes without saying that this is a classic. Every track melds into the others to create a uniform, relaxed field of sound. This is math rock without jumping from 0 to 100 in .63 seconds, or without blasting your eardrums into the ionosphere. Zeus Tragedies (also, great pun, right?) is sweet and warm and a personal favorite of mine.
Favorite tracks: Vacation Home, Magic Beach
