Tera Melos - Patagonian Rats

hmmm

Don Caballero - American Don

haven't posted math rock for a while, so i thought this classic math rock album was in order. its instrumental, and not as intense as some other math rock i've posted, but it is rather different than the tapping + superfast drums combo that is somewhat popular among the math rock genre.

Animal Collective - Feels

"hey cuttlefish (my musicname), i thought you said you weren't gonna make another hipster post..."

"yes, but, you see, animal collective is not hipster, it is awesome music that hipsters just happen to sometimes like too, so, uh, FUCK YOUUUUUUUUU"

feels is an album which might sound funny to you (at least, more funny than the usual animal collective freak folk would sound weird to you), and this is because all the instruments are very slightly untuned from the traditional twelve tones we are used to hearing. it sounds better than i am describing it just trust me.

Piglet - Lava Land

like a more upbeat version of "giraffes? giraffes!"

Giraffes? Giraffes! - More Skin With Milk-Mouth

i have posted other albums from the side projects of "giraffes? giraffes!" but this is the first feature of their main project. this album cover is rather... intense? anyways, this was one of my first math rock albums, and i still really love it. i find it amazing that the entire album is a just a two piece band, one guitarist and one drummer, both very skilled at their instruments. i highly recommend this album to any fan of math rock, or experimental rock in general.

p.s. here is a list of all the tracks present in this album, because, uhh, the names... they are amazing. also you can buy the album here (hah)

The Littlest Viking - Labor & Lust

given that math rock (and occasionally instrumental rock in general) is often too musically technical to concern itself with such silly matters as "emotion" or "mood" or "theme", the littlest viking gives math rock fans a nice break from mindless guitar tapping and lets them step into a world of almost euphoric, upbeat instrumental rock with the odd time signatures we all love.

Ghosts & Vodka - Addicts and Drunks

awesome math rock album, ranging from the traditional fast, time shifting guitar noodling of 'futuristic genitalia', to beautifully composed acoustic guitar solo pieces like the opening track, 'andrea loves horses'.

Boris - Amplifier Worship

some of the most distorted, droning, noisy sludge/doom metal on the planet. boris is well known for changing styles pretty much every time they release something, and this release is well known for its heavily distorted, droning guitar, death metal style growling and screaming, and the odd noisy synth and polyrhythm drum beat thrown in for good measure. just listen for yourself :)

Ken Kennerson - Beautitude

one of the many side projects of a great group, "giraffes? giraffes!", ken kennerson ranges in styles throughout their albums. this one tends to be a strange mix of happy, upbeat experimental rock, and depressing melodic tunes. this whole album is something of an emotional trip, not to mention hella weird.

you can buy it for 5 dollars here, and listen to the entire album, free, here: http://giraffesgiraffes.bandcamp.com/album/beautitude

or, you can get it somewhere else for free, if you have no conscience :p

no video today, listen to any of the songs in the album at their bandcamp, i just mentioned it a second ago, sillybutt!

Tortoise - Millions Now Living Will Never Die

jazzy post-rock that you have (hopefully) already heard of... many consider it one of the most important albums in the foundation of post-rock, though it draws on other influences like electronic music and modern jazz (lots of improv!). this album is kind of like what my dreams sound like?

Battles - Atlas

one of my first math rock albums, looking back (which shows how young i am, heh), but it was also, at the same time, and introduction to space rock, pitch shifting, alternate tunings, and looping jams. maybe its just nostalgia, but i still freakin' love the crazyness (even if they did "sell out" by going on the twilight movie soundtrack)

Them, Roaringtwenties - Future Sandwitch

i'm back! sorry about the guest post, i was out for yesterday, and i am trying to make this a regular thing. today we've got some crazy noodly math rock, with heavy doses of autotune and vocal chaos. its a bit overwhelming, but all in good fun.

Hella - Hold Your Horse Is

heavy, noisy math rock, with a drummer on drugs that apparently make time go slowly. tapped discordant patterns often make their way into these things, but it creates a sort of harshness that is very fun to listen to. also, tempo shifts are all over the place here.

65daysofstatic - The Fall of Math

gosh, these guys kinda have a complex genre, for sure: apocalyptic instrumental post-rock post-idm/drumandbass math rock, with lots of electronic themes and samples and effects (for example, heavy use of granular synthesis on live drums!). they have a cult fanbase called "65kids", and not the creepy kind of cult with initiations and robes and sacrifice and stuff*. so, yeah, that is all i have to say about them i guess, ok.

*apologies to radiohead

OOIOO - Gold & Green

all-girl japanese space rock, with a good sense of rhythm and noise influences. nice mixture of cute, cheery, trippy, and melodic, it makes me happy :3

We Versus The Shark - Ruin Everything!

hmm... math rock/metal with lotsa shouting, talented instrumentalists, and very interesting sudden switches. also, it makes you wanna tap your feet, even though you don't know the time signature AT ALL.

Maps & Atlases - Perch Patchwork

Math Rock has an interesting idea behind it, but today, the genre is predominately ruled by over-compressed tapping guitars with annoying repeating patterns, show off drummers, and whiny voiced musicians with barely any sense of melody, that honestly would fit in better with the emo crowd*. However, this release by Experimental Folk/Math Rock group Maps & Atlases really brings expression back to the genre of odd times and weird themes. Tagged by some as Outsider Music because of the singer's very distinctive voice and lyrics, along some odd lo-fi mixing and production techniques, it certainly takes a bit of getting used to. However, once you start to get into it, the beautiful and complex melodies and rhythms will make this an album you want to listen over and over again.

*apologies to Minus The Bear and others