(Editor’s Note: Every once in a while we’re asked why there aren’t more Don Caballero puns around the site, and you know what? You haven’t lived math rock, and a new chapter is upon us. The Singles Broken Up column is meant to function as a speed date for readers short on time yet still find themselves thirsting for new and notable tunes. So, ready to mingle with some singles? Good – this week we’ve got you covered with drops from JYOCHO, DELTA SLEEP, A-TOTA-SO, COWBOYY, BACKYARD PYROTECHNICS, and YOSHIZAWA.
JYOCHO – ” はじめからすべて知っている / We Know Everything from the Beginning”
(While no surprise that the song is devastatingly beautiful because, you know, it’s JYOCHO, there’s a legitimate weight to this one as stands to be the their last record featuring Nekato Nekota on vocals and keys, who’s written and performed with them since 2017. That being said, massive shoutout to the production crew behind the fascinating music video.)
DELTA SLEEP – “Unread”
(From what we can tell Delta Sleep is on some kind of unalterable upwards trajectory, and we’re not complaining. These guys have been kicking ass for a long time, yet the lyrics and narrative on display are sharper than ever, with the chords and leads that demand that we sit down and wear headphones for it, cleverly doubling down on the song’s introspective message.)
A-TOTA-SO – “Form of Mass”
(A-Tota-So continue to boldly experiment with vocals of seemingly every kind, but “Form of Mass” actually sees the entire band push for something more post-punk than we’ve ever got from them before. It still has that distant sense of space and dankness they’ve built up to this point, but way higher tension. Hopefully that’s not a sign of struggle, because if you ask, this particularly stylistic switchup is cool as hell.)
COWBOYY – “chewing”
(This is one of those relatively new discoveries for us that had us thinking ‘damn, the kids are gonna be alright.’ If you’re one of those jaded, faded mathers like us that constantly has to remind themselves that math rock isn’t totally played out, “chewing,” and Cowboyy’s noise in general, is a proper attitude adjustment.)
BACKYARD PYROTECHNICS – “kaleidoscope yolk”
(Our email assistant Sim Clout reached out with the new single from Backyard Pyrotechnics at the perfect, and we gotta say this sweet and sour math rock + post-hardcore nugget really stands out thanks to the vocals. That’s not to undersell the wicked instrumental underneath which probably deserves it’s own round of applause, but the vox lend a sense of escalation and personality emo fans will easily appreciate.
YOSHIZAWA – “STOP START”
Though at first you’d be tempted to think ‘oh yeah, pretty nice little post-rock cut, no biggie,’ the scenes shift, skitter, and melt away to reveal something bizarre, dark, and ultimately hard to describe. It’s the very definition of a sleeper hit – if you just listen to the first thirty seconds, it’s a casual treat, but if you stay for the whole thing, you just might have yourself a new favorite band.
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