2011, whilst being incredibly gloomy in all its other endeavours, was a tremendous year for music where the common theme of the day appeared to be in the guise of a post-blues sound, which is where we found ourselves completely immersed in this 3rd offering from New Orlean’s band Mutemath. A band so hard to define in its very nature, they pushed themselves once more to further add to their impressive musical palette with this delightful, blues-tinged album. At its peak, ‘Odd Soul’ stands magestically as a very testatment to their talent and conscientiousness to drive and evolve their sound which is why ‘Odd Soul’ was IndiePoint’s album of the year for 2011. Have a great new year and see you all in 2012!
Rest Of The Top 5: 2.City and Colour (Little Hell), 3.The Antlers (Burst Apart), 4.Death Cab For Cutie (Codes and Keys), 5.The Black Keys (El Camino)
In an era where mimicking what the rest of the pack are doing is the norm, MUTEMATH stands refreshingly on their own, refusing to be shackled down or defined by any one particular genre. With ‘Odd Soul’ they reboot once more, metamorphosing their sound into a magnificent, New Orleans’ Rhythm and Blues- inspired arrangement and it’s a record that once again emphatically lifts them head and shoulders above the rest of their peers.
The album opens up with title track ‘Odd Soul’, a song that fuses blues guitar notes with empowering drumming (that has really taken on a new profound emphasis in this record) into an aggressive concoction of brutal brilliance and which is then immediately followed up by funky and infectiously ‘foot-tapping’ song ‘Prytania’. ‘Blood Pressure’ and ‘Tell Your Heart Heads Up’ relentlessly continue proceedings, letting ‘Odd Soul’ reach ever higher, gravity defying highs before ‘All Or Nothing’ rounds off what can only be described, without exaggeration and complete honesty, as the greatest first half of an album one can listen to, with thought-provoking and reflective material encompassed in an intricate minimalist casing. MUTEMATH allows a brief minute for a minute-long smooth instrumental piece that allows for a much required quick intake of breath, before presenting us with an energetic second half showing of ‘Odd Soul’ with particular stand out songs such as ‘Allies’, ‘Quarantine’, the rhythmically effervescent ‘Walking Paranoia’ and the beatuifully contemplative ‘In No Time’, kicking extra life into the album, just in case anyone doubted that MUTEMATH could keep up their logic-defying high standard all throughout ‘Odd Soul’.
‘Odd Soul’ is many things; confident, beautiful, reflective - sometimes all at the same time in some songs and, above all, brilliant. It’s an assured display of musical bravado; with their latest release they touched on rhythm and blues, not caring for the soft cries of foul by fans of other blues band and even their own faithful and released an album that un-apologetically took a firm grip of the genre and swept aside all other bands that had come before. The thing is, It’s not the first time that MUTEMATH have reformulated their sound and explored new genres with assured success; it happened in ‘Armisitice’ just as it has done in here, adding new layers and influences onto a brilliant and continuously-evolving sound blueprint with each new album that they release. It offers an apt explanation of why it has been so difficult to define and categorize MUTEMATH into any one particular genre and perhaps is the defining factor that separates them from the rest of the pack and makes them so alarmingly good.
Recommended Songs: ‘Odd Soul’, ‘Prytania’, ‘Tell Your Heart Heads Up’, ‘All or Nothing’, ‘Allies’, ‘Walking Paranoia’ and ‘In No Time’.
Overall: Another wonderful achievement for this immensely talented band, with ‘Odd Soul’ they’ve reached a level that goes beyond even the most respected of bands in the industry.
Reviewed by Nima Alagha
Bands You Really Need To Know - 1. MUTEMATH (Song - Clipping)
There was only ever going to be one band at the summit of this list and the alternative rockers from New Orleans certainly strike a fierce claim to its position at number one. Awash with almost unimaginable instrumental prowess and depth, that ensures differing and ambitious songs which set out to make an instant mark with their innate complexity. The added imposition of an incredible live set ensures their prime position only further as one of the best bands to see live and that is something I highly recommend people to do at least once in their life. ‘Clipping’ itself offers the best portrayal of the band; top vocals, dark imposing lyrics and a sweltering mix of instruments builds up to something that possesses such gravity and is so very meaningful in its make-up, that by the time we have reached the climax of it all, we are already intensely drawn into the Mutemath story. This is Mutemath, and quite simply, everyone should listen to their brilliance at one point in time.
Title track from MUTEMATH’s new album which is due for release on the 4th October. For more news and album reviews check out http://indiepoint.tumblr.com.
MUTEMATH announce new album release date
MUTEMATH’s new album, tentatively titled ‘Odd Soul’ will be released on the 4th October. The title song was also revealed today, which I will be posting soon as well. For more news and album reviews check out http://indiepoint.tumblr.com
An attempt to talk about and review music and all other things musical using as few words as possible. Its not lazy, its just efficient.
Follow @nemofindsworld
