You might agree that the mid-1990’s were the salad days of math rock, a time where the term ‘math rock’ was still a joke phrase and only just picking up traction from the zines and journos. There were bands like Chavez, Polvo, Shudder To Think that added rhythmic complexity to their combinations of grunge, slacker rock, post-punk, and post-hardcore with a mathy edge. What made these bands so good is that their discordant was well-balanced with palatable hooks and sing-alongs.
•LAC•'s first EP 141/146 was a varied beast. In parts it was a tight, almost minimalist piece of instrumental rock, clipped down to clicking drums and relaxed guitar lines. In others it exploded into walls of reverb'ed guitar that sounded like a band of hundreds rather than three.
The consolation of math rock is that the unexpected is expected. The listener is often presented with a non-conventional sensory overload and, as the song finishes, are left picking up the many pieces and trying to make sense of them.
Kyoto trio tricot return with jangling math rock in their highly anticipated third album 3. The sheer musicianship of Ikkyu, Motifour and Hirohiro slapping the listener in the face with the sound of the first trademark high-pitched snare of 'Tokyo Vampire Hotel', the album’s opening track.
Two-piece loop fiasco Space Blood is as much a visual as an aural experience. Anyone who has seen the band will know that they have no inhibitions when it comes to their act. Covert plays in underpants. Edgin wears a crop top to garner some twisted sex appeal from his hairy gut.