Stomatopod - Competing With Hindsight

Stomatopod play the sort of music that sounds one chorus 

 away from musically exploding into chaos but somehow they 

manage to keep things flowing into nagging songs that lodge 

into your brain.

Straddling the void between noise/art/punk/math, these songs are full of

spastic rhythms, staccato time changes and sprawling passages that wind

up as aggressive bursts of frustration.

The sound has a lot of empty space which gives the Tom Verlaine type

soloing room to explore before getting trashed into basic riffs. This is

very good shit ......... the vocals veers between plantive, demented,

crooning and shouting which in this day and age of roared, aggressive

shouting manages to bring a lot more tension into proceedings.

Sounding like Sonic Youths bratty younger brothers, Stomatopod

also have the same knack for inventing a new musical language that you

don't quite get but want to understand better. Oh yeah and it is mixed

and recorded by Steve Albini.

El Drugstore - The Golden Age of Bad Ideas

El Drugstore describe themselves as "Instrumental Freak

Attack" and with those words, launch into a whirling,

insane barrage of riffs, timings, dizzy note abuse and

powerhouse drumming.

Early Mastodon meet the Cardiacs doing Botch cover numbers

is probably the nearest I can get to a quick description and even

then I am falling short of the mark.

This is head-fuck music of the highest order and I gladly embrace

its almost psychedelic and psychotic aggression gladly.

Technical chops they have in abundance but unlike so many

instrumental metal/hardcore bands, El Drugstore have the vision

and tunes to pull it off. 

Like "On The Corner" by Miles Davis, at first it seems almost too

complex and random to make sense but under the distorted instruments

there is a fucked up groove happening. 

This is the perfect soundtrack for a world full of tension, mistrust,

loners, paranoia and nerves shot to pieces with coffee and hate.

POles - Marmyteran

Yet another instrumental math-rock album? This genre seems

to be treading water now with cut’n’paste bands springing up

everywhere with little riffs played over and over, thinking

that without a vocalist, they are breaking new ground!

Well thank fuck for POles! This sounds fresh and vibrant with an

urgency that demands to be listened to. Of course there are light and

dark shades within the song arrangements but there is also an epic

feel to the tracks. When the intricate parts start to explode into bigger

riffs, the guitars stomp on fuzz boxes with gusto and a heaviness

that demands you start to jump up and down.

Like the demented offspring of Don Caballero and Pelican,

Zvoov have plainly showed how to find their own voice. If anyone

you know has any interest in math-rock, point ‘em this way!

Thanks to Bruno from the band for sending this.

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Town Portal - Chronopoly

Band request from Denmark.

I reviewed the Town Portal EP last year and hoped that there

would be a full album available to listen to - well, here it is.

They play instrumental mathy-rock but with a much heavier

feel than a lot of their peers. I will leave the massive and

detailed press release to tell you about it - have a read and

listen then make your own mind up.

Recklessly focused and peculiarly embracing: The debut album of Copenhageners Town Portal dares to sparkle in an abundance of different nuances. Chronopolyis a solid entry from a band with just 2 years under its belt. Just about one year has passed since Town Portal captured and released the first fragment of their non-verbal musical universe in the shape of the EP Vacuum Horror, whichwas merely released digitally on a pay-what-you-want basis. In spite of humble circumstances, the record acquired a much less humble amount of attention, receiving praising reviews in leading Danish music magazines likes Soundvenue (5/6), Devilution (4/5) and Geiger, who said that “Town Portal manages to utilize all the means of music and does so on an exceptionally high level. The energy of a band young at heart, and the notion of a feeling of no limits to their own prowess, shines through…”.Furthermore the Vacuum Horror EP was launched into the international blogosphere, and got the band touring around most of the European mainland.Since then the constellation has been reduced from four men to three, forcing Town Portal to decompose and reconstruct approaches to sound and composition. These endeavors has resulted in the debut album Chronopoly (from Greek ‘chronos’ and English ‘monopoly’). Like its predecessor this record still offers instrumental rock-music with a sludgy dropped tune hook,which serves as counterweight to complex and playful compositions. With a tireless curiosity new ways are sought out,of combining tones in untraditional ways, with the traditional guitar-bass-drum constellation. On Chronopoly though, these well-known components mutate to their extremes, and form a release that is both more complex, melodic, direct, and boundary pushing than the predecessor; an exponential development in a well-governed welter of metal, shoegaze, indie,and progressive rock. 

During this fall the album will be followed by a set of Danish shows, as well as Town Portal’s third international tour, that in the course of two weeks will take the band through Germany, France and Switzerland, in the company of AmericanFeast of the Epiphany. Town Portal’s ChronopolyLP is the fifth release of the independent Copenhagen-based vinyl label Subsuburban. A label that in just over a year released four high quality records with a smallarray of international acts: AmericanTime Columns and Silian Rail, ItalianValerian Swing, and the Stockholm-based one-man act Flourescent Heights. Subsuburban has active distribution both physically and digitally. Records can be found in just about all notable record stores in Scandinavia, and in select stores in the U.S.A (NYC, San Fransisco and Austin), Italy, Great Britain(through Norman Records), Germany and Benelux (via. Belgian Dunk Records and German Kapitan Platte). Town Portal is the first “local” signing of Subsuburban. An interesting new beginning for an atypical record label’s actual, serious, and awaited advent into the Danish scene.

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The Glad Husbands - God Bless The Stormy Weather

Band request from Italy.

The Glad Husbands have a nice line in noise rock which is
tempered with some math time scales and the ability to know
when to rein back the vocals to provide a contrast within the
songs.

The band have some impressive musical chops but this does not
distract from the almost gleeful bursts of chaotic aggression that
come squirming into your cortex.

Multiple guitar riffs weave effortlessly through the tracks,
veering between delicate beauty or going for the throat. Very
precise interplay between the drums and bass power the jagged
rhythms which dominate this album, giving the listener an
disconcerting sense of unreleased tension.

Give it a listen.

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A Cheery Wave From Stranded Youngsters - Various (2012)

Flies Are Spies From Hell have released another excellent
compilation of bands featuring the best of the UK post-rock,
instrumental and math-rock underground.

The personal highlight for me is the track from What The
Blood Revealed but the whole album plays very well as a
complete listen - compilations sometimes tend to be a varied affair
but care has been taken with song choices and track order for
seamless playing.

With 10 bands to choose from, give this a go and discover
something new.

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I could not let this post go without telling you to visit the Flies Are Spies From Hell
bandcamp page, where,  among a host of releases, is their album Red Eyes
Unravelling which was responsible for opening my ears to a lot of other music.

Mental Architects - Celebrations (2012)

Request from Domino Media.

Mental Architects are a Bulgarian math-rock band with post-rock
influences in the song structures.

Produced and mastered by Aaron Harris, as you can imagine the
sound is full and powerful.

Complex and fast guitars do their mathy thing while the intricate
drums and bass push the intensity of the songs along nicely.

The riffs and tempos weave through time changes but do not
fall into the cut'n'paste template that seems to be used so much
at the moment. Mental Architects have their own identity in this
crowded genre and are stamping their authority over paths that
have been trodden by Don Caballero and Adebisi Shank.

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Nonogon - People Live Everywhere (2012)

Band request from Chicago, USA.

Nonogon are a post-hardcore trio who have a mathy sound

but without being tied down to the sometimes mechanical

playing that robs the human touch from the "math" tag.

Cleanish vocals are yelped out over the tracks which benefit

from having organic song structures which still pack a punch

despite no obvious verse/chorus motifs.

Technical skills are on show here with great interplay between

all instruments which, thanks to the production, are crystal

clear.

The band have requested that I only put up their own links -

as a DIY affair, they are handling all aspects of promotion etc.

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Listen to the stream - I would put them between Fugazi or

Don Caballero - better still, make your own mind up!

Obstacles - Oscillate

Band request from Copenhagen, Denmark.

Here is their press release:

Having perfected the controlled, well-structured output on

Dividual – a relentless musical assault of tightness and timing

- the band felt an urge to tackle the song-writing in a completely

different way. Loosing up, Letting go. Trying to make the impossible,

possible by making complex music flow in a more free form. After a swift and spontaneous writing-process, 4 tracks were ready to be captured.

Obstacles teamed up with their friend Sune Kaarsberg to begin the

recordings of Oscillate in their studio. This was a very dynamic process filled with experiments in sound and form. The result is breathtaking.

Like being caught in a beautiful storm where chaos and energy reigns.

While still somewhat futuristic in its aesthetics, Oscillate can also be

considered a nod back to a hazy forgotten past, paying homage to

legends of prog-rock and jazz-fusion whilst still maintaining the

punchiness and vigor of their previous releases.

Obstacles are a 3 piece instrumental band who have combined

Space/prog-rock with some Math-rock and come up with some great

sounding tracks. Frantic playing makes sure all the tracks hurtle

along without losing the flow and there is some excellent guitar

riffing and solos that are boosted with the addition of some

un-hinged sax playing. This is pretty hard to describe - play the

stream below and make your own mind up!

Listen

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Town Portal - Vacuum Horror

Band request from Copenhagen, Denmark.

This is their press release:

"Town Portal play instrumental rock that crosses borders

of genres. Tapping on experience from earlier endeavors

in genres like death metal, shoegaze and math rock, the

three members bring components of it all into a melting pot,

creating a unique niche of original melodies and harmonies,

fixated on a skeleton of complex and playful rhythm structures.

Under the dogma of forsaking vocals and other superfluous effects,

the band throw themselves into a search of new meaningful ways to compose tones over time, with a heavy and dry precision.

After a European tour in 2010 and a minor row of Danish shows,

they released their debut EP entitled Vacuum Horror in late 2011.

The EP was followed up by another European tour in the beginning

of 2012. In Denmark the EP was praised in several large- and small

scale magazines, and the opening track Rosini is currently in rotation

on national Danish radio, DR P6. A surprising outcome for an

instrumental band, with its roots heavily planted in the DIY scenes

ethics and methods. At the moment they’re preparing the recording

of their debut album set to be released later this year."

Town Portal play instrumental math-rock but with a heavier feel than

say, Don Caballero. Striking guitar lines lead the songs but the thick

bass sound comes through this well produced EP and by making sure

the drums have a "live" feel to them, stop this from becoming just

pointless noodling. The tracks rock nicely and I think that when the time

comes for recording a full length album, they will be worth a return visit.

Listen

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Botch - 061502 (2006)

This is a recording of the last ever Botch

gig - it came out as a DVD/CD set and this

is the CD part of that.

The bands that emerged from the ashes

were: These Arms Are Snakes, Minus the

Bear, Narrows and Russian Circles, which

give you an idea of how influential Botch

became.

With hardcore heaviness, they tore apart

song structures and time signatures and

are certainly to be credited with turning

people onto math-rock with lashings 0f

thoughtful metal.

But beating at the heart of this wonderful,

twisted monster was hardcore/ punk +

whatever "post" prefix you wish to attach.

This boasts a "best of set list" and the live

recording is pretty good.

Band Info

Take A Worm For A Walk Week - T.A.W.F.A.W.W. (2011)

This is a mixture of Math and Noise Rock which

sounds like it is falling into chaos but is very

structured and controlled.

Post-Hardcore barrages stop and start suddenly,

with pianos and trumpets wailing in the background.

Guitar lines are distorted, switching between riffs

and chords riding on top of the tight-as fuck-rhythm

section.

This is thrilling, inventive music with a progressive

feel to it. The last band to do this so well were the sadly

missed These Arms Are Snakes.

The Scottish accents come through on the vocals .... nice to

hear a regional voice not toned down!

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Blakfish - Champions (2009)

Sounding highly pissed off, Blakfish were a math

rock band with strong vocals, explosive drumming

and jerky guitar.

Twin vocalists switched between clear and shouted

passages - which can sometimes be very jarring -

but here works well.

Sounding chaotic and messy on the first listen,

repeated plays reveal just how tight and intricate

the music is.

Melodic interplay weaves in and out of the songs

but do not get worried ....... there are plenty of

heavier workouts to counter balance everything.

If reading reviews tires you out - give this a listen

if you like Fall of Troys quieter moments.

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Pneu - Highway to Health (2011)

A compelling mix of Math-rock, instrumental

and Noise-rock.

Strong, frantic, heavy and chaotic all spring to mind

when these French guys do their thang.

I am having to go somewhere shortly, so:

This band is very much like a more tuneful "Lightning

Bolt".

You will either know what this means or you are reading

the wrong blog.

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The Flying Luttenbachers - Cataclysm (2006)

More crazy fuckers with guitars.

These instrumental tracks have two distorted

guitars coming from every angle, twinned with

aggressive bass and drums.

A crazed metallic sound, combining math-rock

with primitive punk - jazz type fret workouts.

If you want some easy listening - leave now!

Dense, solid songs assault the ears and the brain

starts to overload with the intricate note patterns

that are being played.

This is accomplished shit and needs to be played

at a huge volume.

Listen

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Shellac - At Action Park (1994)

Steve Albini in yet another band that delivers

heavy songs without using cliched chugging

borrowed from hardcore or metal.

As always, his guitar is razor sharp in its

delivery, every note counts with a venom

that is reflected in the abrasive tone used.

Vocal wise is as you would expect and the

drumming is almost machine like in the

execution of the math like riffs.

This has a very minimal sound but it

still rocks like a bastard. Less noise rock

than Big Black but to be investigated if you

have run out of new Jesus Lizard to listen to!

Listen

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Dub Trio - Another Sound is Dying (2008)

Mainly instrumental math rock but with a huge rock

sound to the songs, giving them a great stoner edge as

well.

Twisting guitar lines interplay with solid bass and

drums but all mixed up with forays into the world

of Dub.

King Tubby type echo on the drums, staccato guitar

stabs repeating into the distance, all underpinned with

a fat, fat bass.

The dub aspect is never overplayed, so this is a very

varied album Listen

Band Info

Collapsar - s/t (2005)

Now sadly broken up, Collapsar played an

intricate, instrumental mix of math / tech

metal in a fierce explosion of distorted

guitar lines.

Hard hitting riffs and sonic textured sound-

scapes played with almost King Crimson

precision but with added aggression which

allows all sorts of playing to come out from

the hardcore intensity within the songs.

Dizzying fretwork and an almost mental

jazz drummer may scare of the casual listener

but will reward those who are after some

heavier vibes - Listen

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