Editor’s Note: Updated to include more bands on 12/11/24
We’ll be honest – we’re doing our best to stick it out and stay excited for new music, but times feel like they’re changing a bit: it felt impossible to even sit down and write, which in our position, sucks immensely.
There’s no point in driving you away with an essay on just how quickly the world seems to be shitting it’s pants, but you probably already know – if you need groceries, health insurance, and a job to pay rent, you get it. These things are more on our mind than music lately, and if you live in the United States, you’re probably gearing up for an even steeper decline. Fool me once, they say…
That being said, good music IS one of the few things that will get us through the day to day, no matter what happens. You won’t get paid for making it, of course, just pitted against the next good record like it’s some kind of war, but that’s where sites like us try to break things up. This world shouldn’t be a competition – that’s why we don’t score/rate records. If you like a piece of music, you can spin it the rest of your life, and if you don’t, there are millions of other options – no need for us to tell you what to think. There’s enough of that to go around. Anyway, enough teeth gnashing. Sending love to everyone feeling scared, hungry, confused, and/or trying to release a record. Do what you love, and feck the rest.
Catholics – Synonyms of Void
Catholics have finally released the full LP with their expanded lineup, and it’s such a sigh of relief to hear how well they’ve pulled it off. Across the record, you can tell a lot of time was put in to make each moment interesting. Funnily enough, Synonyms is just one of a few planned releases for the band in the next few months, so if anything, this is just the beginning.
Yerfdaas – Jewel of Salisbury
Yerfdaas is one of those bands that we discovered while putting together a previous music dump, and we still remember the intrigue we felt during that initial encounter. Dense, challenging, and occasionally hilarious, their new EP is highly recommended.
Paper Mice – Neurotic City
Paper Mice’s cover EP is a deliciously tongue-in-cheek situation, and each of the three songs sees different approaches. “Love Will Keep Us Together” almost inverts it’s source material, but still very much sounds like an observation of the original arrangement. Then we have the Nnamdï-assisted cover of “Private Dancer,” which we had the honor of premiering which is more like Paper Mice proper. “S.O.S.” perhaps does the same to an even greater degree, almost taking us back to the ecstasy of hearing 1-800 Mondays for the first time, but with a dirty, post-pop edge thanks to the feature from Miranda Winters.
Solar Wimp – Trails of Light
We almost missed this one, and it would have been a damn shame – Mark Kimbrell of Oort Smog rips something fierce and cathartic on this one, merging heady prog, visceral metal, and some sort of primal Earth energy to create truly uniquely piquant for the holiday season. Wimpy, it is not.
Gods. – Alchemy
South Carolina’s Gods. put out their exceptionally groovy new album out last month, and one word keeps coming to mind while listening to it: juicy. This thing is fresh, and almost feels mismatched for the cold weather we’re currently experiencing because it makes you want to just go outside and touch grass in the great outdoors.
Champagne Colored Cars – Future Noir
CCC returns with a perfectly flowery but also uniquely challenging conceptual EP that actually gave us a lot to think about when we first heard it. The production is fantastic, and the narrative is really compelling with retro-futuristic space age revisionism that still manages to sound immediately relatable as far out as it actually is. Future Noir almost feels like if Wes Anderson directed a record about it to compliment films like Asteroid City, and it had us contemplating all the complicated emotions that must await in alternate timelines in dimensions, as opposed to a grass is greener scenario – but not in a depressing way thankfully, because overall this EP is a joy to sit down with.
Rainbow Face – Enjoy this Ruin
We finally think we get Portland’s Rainbow Face, at least in terms of their name. Ever since we ran into them years ago, we were trying to comprehend how anything multicolored would come to mind with the haunting, even menacing vibes. Then it his us – much like a clown. Enjoy this Ruin paints a distinct portrait of a carnival hell that can be hard to look at, but the more we do, the more it reminds us of some of the all-time greats. King Crimson comes to mind on tracks like “Virus” and “My Crusade,” and throughout the EP there’s an atmosphere reminiscent of early Pink Floyd material, not to mention hints of Mr. Bungle. It also very much carves out its own place in things, so if you’re looking for some devilishly good prog that constantly holds your attention, this one is a no-brainer.
Loveletting – Demos
If you ever search through Bandcamp, it’s kind of a red flag when you see a collection of demos, despite what you might think. Most of the time, it means they’re not fully formed ideas – at least, that’s how it’s interpreted through our semi-specific sense of trying to share music with an audience. That being said, this little ditty out of Las Vegas is an exception to the rule with super pretty midwest-emo backdrops.
Bunk Bed – Roughhousing
This chunky punk-via-math rock offering from Wisconsin takes us back to the introspective yet spastic days of discovering At the Drive-In, and we could only ever mean that as a compliment unless we are specifically referring to keeping instruments in tune.
Täwi – Xiuhtecuhtli!
You know how sometimes when a dog is confused or intrigued, they do that little head tilt thing? Just looking at the record, we wee doing the same thing, but after about thirty seconds of listening, our heads were twisted almost clean off. It’s really fun electronic math rock that seems perfectly suited for video games.
Fight Cloud – Ritual Disaster
Fight Cloud came into our lives at a strange time, just as the pandemic hit and we couldn’t help ask “what even is music right now?” However, Thought Aligned had undeniable depth and staying power, and the overall sense of maturity soars even higher on their highly anticipated new record, Ritual Disaster, playing like the voice of an old friend lifting you through the hard times. We needed it more than ever, Fight Cloud <3
Ufoufoufo – Ufofo2: This Machine is Alive/ Hominid Catharsis
This Machine is Alive, truly, is an exercise in world building. Whether you’re looking to have your sense of time inverted by the bizarre rhythms of “There Will Be A Culling” or your eardrums ripped out through your headphones on “I Love Car Bomb,” if you’re looking for a jangly trip through unseen dimensions, you’ll want to board this craft as soon as possible.
wonderglu – GLU2: back on the line
This Philadelphian trio melds some very specific melodic hardcore and emo influences to create something familiar, fun, and somewhat different all at once. Everything that’s expected is here, but in unexpected ratios – this one might fly under some radars due to some progressive direction, which we of course love, but even if you’re just here for the emo, there’s a lot here to dig into.
Space Cadet 64 – Disappointingly Bassic
Space Cadet 64 is one of the more persistently intriguing hybrids between 8-bit and math rock that we’re aware of, often starting songs within a familiar template then surprising us with sharp left turns into different genres entirely. Disappointingly Bassic continues this pattern while also representing a new level of execution for the project, making for an even deeper, more emotionally involved experience. Disappointing, by any stretch of the imagination, it is not.
The Math Dolphin – The Math Dolphin Goes to Jail
Yeah, um… we’re not sure? There’s a very real component to this record, despite its goofy, semi-automated, possibly-AI-assisted aesthetic. If you’ve got time, we do recommend trying to get through the Substack that goes into the story of… a catatonic dolphin prisoner attempting to simulate the dream job of being a math teacher? Even if you don’t… it’s at least worth trying to get through this record at least once. You probably haven’t heard anything like it this year.
Rob Ford Explorer – Nil
It’s been a joy for many of us to watch Reno’s RFE evolve over the years – in the beginning, they were a force to be reckoned with in an overcrowded Floral-esque flurry of bands, but they’ve developed a sound that’s more theirs than anyone else’s over the years. In fact, Nil, while occasionally letting itself unfurl in pretty ways, is a somewhat scalding experience with a lot more harsh, post-hardcore sounding vocals, and guess what? It fits like a glove… a Rob Ford Explorer driving glove. Also, shoutout to drummer Greg Lewis for hitting the absolute shit out of that cowbell when it really counts.
The Robot and Me – Bike Songs
Well, call us a monkey’s uncle. It’s been too long since we’ve heard from The Robot and Me, even if we got a taste of the return last year on The Pieces of Shit‘s “Fuck Those Cheese Merchants,” a song we still listen to fairly often. This surprise three-track drop is instrumental, but still manages to run a huge gamut in terms of sound, from chirping synths and drum ‘n bass to sludgy, speaker crushing guitars on the latter half of “Perspectives.”
As Living Arrows – Hope and Ruin
When As Living Arrows first record came out, it wasted not a single second letting you know that you were in for brutal heartache and hurling, windswept hardcore, but there was also some subtlety to it. On Hope and Ruin, the band seems even more confident, and rightly so as they embrace their unique balance between the sublime and the frantic with understated clean vocals, spacious interludes, and impeccably timed drums as always courtesy of TTNG‘s Chris Collis.
Socks and Ballerinas – A Bit Jumpy.
The UK duo we can’t help but love, we first heard about Socks and Ballerinas when we were exploring the abandoned and supremely haunted offices of Oldest House in Remedy’s classic action game, Control. The band’s hyperactive arc is about as infectious as a case of swine flu, but let’s just say it’s also one hundred times the fun. A Bit Jumpy injects their classic formula with a fair amount of substance this time around, which isn’t to say it wasn’t there before, but here there’s less irony and goofiness. It’s still there, but it feels more like a victory dance this time around as opposed to just a good time. Despite the heavy tone of the world these days, records like this can still make you smile, move, and keep on keeping on.
Torture Garden – Supplice
Well let’s just dive into something absolutely confusing here – somewhere between gothic post-punk, anthemic emo, and math rock, this one is overall just a bat out of hell from Brazil. Imagine if Arcade Fire just decided to get heavier after putting out Neon Bible, or if Tera Melos collaborated with… um… like, Rammstein or something, with shred throughout. It’s a strong cup of tea whatever it is, and though some people might pass on it, if you go through the whole thing you’re sure to be impressed.
Origami Button – Hindsight
Oh, Origami Button – you had us at “math rock for people who don’t like math rock.” As antagonistic as their Bandcamp bio might sound, the band’s sound is supremely smooth, and indeed is likely to win over anyone on the face about math rock, especially if they’re partial to buttery smooth vocals and highly polished arrangements. This is high quality stuff – don’t miss it.
Lilac Stranger – Dreaming in Lilac
This Puerto Rican powerhouse of post-rock and math, if you weren’t aware, absolutely rips. Anyone on the prowl for shred is sure to eat this up, as some of the guitar parts take us back to the days of CHON‘s demo, a compliment we hardly hand out casually. But there’s a lot more than guitar prowess on display on Dreaming in Lilac – there’s insanely diverse song structures here, and the vocals are all over the place in the best way, so we could easily see this on some best-of-2024 lists.
Fast Radiance Gang – Bullying Tutorial
First of all, the idea of a bullying tutorial is just bold. Secondly, this a UK based band really knows how to rip through the Russian language. Bullying and geographical confusion aside, this is EP is a great time with a lot of energy. In fact, there’s more than enough energy to break any kind of perceived language barrier, although we are curious as to what’s going on, because it sounds great.
Aksarven – Drifting from Nowhere
Every once in a while a piano-dominant record will find its way into the annals of math rock, and the genre is all the better for it. Hell, we hardly need proof of this with bands like Lily Legit or Mouse on the Keys on the loose, not to mention luminaries like Tigran Hamasyan, but France’s Aksarven makes a convincing case that there’s actually a lot of ground left to cover with their etheric yet driving tunes. More than just compositional aplomb, the project shows off a sense of transcendent melodic fantasy that feels heartfelt and familiar but also fairly original – it fits in with the projects we mentioned above, but also it’s quite confident to do it’s own thing, so it’s easy to fall in love with. To tie things together with a visual element, check out the music video here – you won’t regret it.
Dude Corea – Boss Battle
Well, ain’t this one a doozy – first of all, whoever’s idea it was to change the gender of Chic Corea, you have our thanks, because we haven’t laughed that hard in a minute. Cleverness aside, the Boss Battle EP is surprisingly gritty and unpredictable thrill ride through post-hardcore and experimental rock and roll bits that still somehow end up adjacent to math rock, but also bands like Primus, Rush, and kind of a little bit Fugazi. It’s hard to explain, but check it out for yourself.
listen and interpret – people are familiar and don’t have brain damage
This is the kind of music that cats make and/or listen to, so you’d best jam this thing in its entirety if you want to stay on your furry one’s good side. It’s wonky electronic madness that never questions itself or alters itself for the norm, but it incorporates a few other surprises too, making for potentially the most original sounding cut of today’s music dump. It’s like if you turned on your old Sega Genesis after dropping a couple hits of acid, only for your Genesis to power up and say to you, “I am also on acid. Let’s see how this goes.”
Bovidae – Clappands
At first glance, you might think that this record is actually just a meme or some kid messing around. But do push past this assumption, because it turns out, this is actually pretty serious music. It’s progressive, it’s dark, it’s gorgeously theatric, even sludgy at times… really, it’s got a lot going for it musically. Now we just need to figure out more about this bovine situation on the cover because it looks like it might be stuck in a ritual circle, a scenario that’s already blowing our minds.
Delta Sleep – Blue Garden
Delta Sleep never misses, but with Blue Garden we get to hear the band hone in on something really special. The band’s evolution so far is truly one of the great arcs in math rock, but getting more personal and introspective for the last couple records have helped the band transcend the tropes of ‘good math rock’ and ascend to a place where ‘it’s just great music’ with math rock around the edges. At times it feels heavier, at others it feels lighter than ever, but this dynamic presence ultimately reveals that in the middle is a record soon to be hailed as Delta Sleep’s most mature record to date, but also their most fantastic.
Spirit of the Beehive – You’ll Have to Lose Something
Any attempt to summarize this album in a few words could only result in blabbering, useless nonsense – Spirit of the Beehive’s sense of scope has always been a swirling psychedelic sunset of madness, but they managed to outdo themselves in every way with You’ll Have to Lose Something. It’s an exorcism. It’s an assault. It’s heartbreak. It’s lust. It’s hope. It’s sunlight. It is fucking everything. Since it’s release, there’s no debating it’s been the record we’ve listened to the most this year, even if we found it surprisingly hard to adapt: at first, we couldn’t figure it out, it felt like they had genuinely lost us. The MS Paint feature felt way off, the single “Let the Virgin Drive” took some getting used to, and the first few tracks didn’t give us anything to grab on to as it violently jerked us around like an angry parent pushing kids through a crowded grocery store… initially, this chaos seemed like cause for concern, because the backstory of the album is no joke, and we couldn’t help but wonder if that’s what the record was suffering from. But really, it wasn’t suffering at all – once you let the record wash over you in its entirety, it’s hard to ignore the brutally unpredictable majesty just beneath the surface on songs like “I’ve Been Evil,” “Sorry Pore Injector,” and “1/500.” In the end, somehow Spirit of the Beehive feel more emotionally accessible, yet more musically obscure than they’ve ever been, and it’s worth every second. In our opinion, You’ll Have to Lose Something should be experienced by everyone at least once, and we genuinely hope the record continues to receive recognition for what it is – a masterpiece.
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