Art Contest – Math Major (2014)

Art Contest brings a delectable mix of ingredients in their new LP, Math Major. The album prods at beautiful lo-fi noise pop with juicy structural irregularities: aberrant key changes (‘Shish Kebab’), odd meters (‘Sugar Bay’ and ‘Misty Flip’) and, well, madcap experimentalism (‘Bassnectar’). The lyrics are less poetry and more capricious fragments (‘I was kissing my Dad and I didn’t even know it’, need I say more?); these are typically vocalised in a chant-like manner through either delightfully scruffy Born Ruffians-style group harmonies or abrasive post-hardcore wails, akin to Touche Amore and Native. As soothing as it is rambunctious, Math Major works with a series of wonderful and wacky musical blueprints, and is execute flawlessly with minimal musical artillery.

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