Math-rock. One of my favorite music genres. Filled with crazy time signature changes, nonsensical song structures, and in general just weird shit. Every time I tell someone not familiar about math-rock, they always follow-up with a witty joke about "music about math? Heh heh". Uh no. Also, you're not funny. But regardless math-rock is a mysterious and underground genre of music. So I'm going to attempt to explain the general gist of what math-rock is. Disclaimer: This is just my take on what math-rock is to me. Other math-rock-heads may have different opinions. (Listen to the songs below while you continue reading)
Hella's "Biblical Violence" is one of my go to's when showing someone math-rock when they ask what it sounds like. This track shows many of the features of what math-rock is and what it can be. Full of ridiculous spastic riffs, yet some melodic ideas and of course that classic twangy guitar tone that so many math-rock bands have. Tera Melos is another prime example of math-rock. More spastic non-sensical guitar riffs and alternating rhythms. There's more of an ambience and post-rock feel though with Tera Melos in comparison to Hella and many other bands. The unconventional song structures are another element of many math-rock acts. Over the years, bands have adopted elements of math-rock and blended it with other sounds and genres. Usually math-rock has its roots in punk or hardcore but some examples of bands that have more mainstream roots with math influences are bands such as Minus the Bear and Everything Everything.
Minus the Bear has some mathy influences with tappy guitar riffs and some atypical rhythms flying around. Yet, they blend some of the mathy elements into their indie rock sound. Everything Everything does a similar thing but instead in a pop/electronic setting. This bleed of mathy elements into other genres and sounds is becoming much more popular recently. One very recent popular math-rock group is CHON: CHON's upbeat groovy sound is incredible popular amongst many different types of music fans. Metalheads, emo-heads, instrumental-heads, math-rock-heads, etc. seem to all agree that CHON is pretty freakin' sweet. Their technical and precise playing blended with the vibe of chilling in the California sun is becoming increasingly popular and accessible.
In general, the themes of what makes a piece of music math-rock or mathy comes down to: atypical song structures, odd time signatures and alternating rhythms, and technical playing abilities. Now while this post has been very concise and given a few examples, I hope you have a better understanding of what math-rock is and the main elements and sounds associated with the genre. For anyone interested in reading more about math-rock and the history of math-rock, Fecking Bahamas has many great articles on the subjects.
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Filled with mid-west emo vibes and self-reflecting lyrics, About Leaving is Downhaul's new anthem to the upcoming summer season where you think too much about life and relationships. "How Things Worked Out" kicks off the EP with a twinkly upbeat riff perfect for driving around on a beautiful summer day reminiscing on life. Downhaul has showed the maturation of their sound with more clarity in the production and more energy in the performances on About Leaving. "Every Few Weeks" features the grooviest bass line on the chorus making it impossible not to bob your head and jam out. Towards the end, the chant of "I don't know how you feel anymore" is cathartic not only for the band but for the listener. In anticipation for the hot North Carolina summer, Downhaul has come through with an enjoyable and emotional project that's worth checking out if you're any kind of fan of indie rock or emo.
Purchase the album on Bandcamp for $1 and support the band directly, or stream on Spotify.
UK math-rock powerhouse Delta Sleep just released a new version of their song "Strongthany" off of their incredible 2015 LP Twin Galaxies (which if you haven't checked out, please go listen here). This version shows off an acoustic version of this beautiful song featuring the band on electric and acoustic guitars, synth bass, and a cajon playing in the middle of a street in Tokyo, Japan. Delta Sleep recently did a Japan tour in late 2016. Japan is regarded as a pinnacle
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