Sunday, August 23, 2009

Nexus Project Phase II

So, Gift Shop Girl needed some help creating a Bourne-esque dossier* for her cousin. BAM!

Nexus Project Phase II

*While completely unofficial but official sounding, all ideas and creations in above link are the sole property of me. Except his name. That's his.

Monday, August 17, 2009

A Beer, A Band and a Blog v0.1 - MuteMath - "Armistace"

I would never know the awesome wonder that is MuteMath if not for a few friends.

And today - Tuesday, August 18, 2009 - that awesomeness continued with the release of the New Orleans band's new disk, "Armistice".

'Bout time!

Even though I have been listening for about a year now (or less), I needed more MuteMath. We all do. The Earth does. It really is beneficial to the universe as a whole actually.

(Even Yoda would love some MuteMath, if he didn't die a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.)




So, as I listened to the album for the first time at 2:30ish a.m. (Eastern Standard Time) I quickly started dancing in my chair (think dashboard hula girl) as "The Nerve" played, funky bass line and crazy drum beats and everything as Paul Meany muses about how the world works before proclaiming, "Set it on fire!". OK, that bass line is not really funky, but it is something, something I can not put my finger on but something that shakes you. 'Tis an excellent effect.



Example:
Can you believe this world's just a double dealin' joker, gonna stick to his guns?
Can you believe this world's just a television blaring, a million devils at once?
Can you believe this world's just a charmer in disguise with a lavender soul?
Can you believe this world's just exactly as we built it, runnin' out of control?

Chorus:
Set it on fire!

Forgot this was actually on the bands website (www.mutemath.com) to promote the album. It is a great song to kick off the "Armistice" too. Get you in the mood for some rock/jazz/craziness.

Musically I love this album. Darren King's completely mezmerizes my eardrums as he plays his drums throughout the disk in a more "listen!" kind of way that really sticks out. Same thing for bassist Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas. His bass feels more prominate while guitarist Greg Hill seems to subtly add to the music without you even realizing it. Same for Meany's keyboard skills. It adds while the bass and drum set the tone.

(I wonder, should Mr. King expect some Hell Hounds after visiting the crossroads he surely sold his soul at)



There is so much music in "Armistice" too! Clapping throughout the disk, bells at one point, but it is Hill's guitar and Meany's keys that really add that music to make it something excellent and amazing. How they can all work together playing what to me is different bits and pieces to create a great song is amazing.


(Clap on!)



(Keys are the keys to success)




Then there is the lyrics ... the lyrics I am going to have to sit and stew over for a few days as I play "Armistice" over and over and over again while reading the lyrics too. Soaking in the sage words of Paul Meany and company until something clicks and I go, "OK, I get it now." It's just how my head works.

Some I get, (see "The Nerve") and then there are others I really, really can't wait to read along too, like the 9-minute epic "Burden" ending the whole album. I keep getting lost in the music and can't focus on the words Meany sings.

I yearn to keep listening and analyzing songs like "Pins & Needles" ("Oh, and I'm growing fond of broken people/As I see that I am one of them"), "Odds" and "Lost Year," the final two of which could be a love song or what I suspect to be really about the band's troubles recording "Armistice".

Thing is, there was a great religious theme throughout "MuteMath" in 2006 and I do not detect that same theme or writing for this record. Which is just fine. Reading on the band's biography it is made known that this is about questioning things - from progress, one's self, relationships - and what is next down the road.

And THAT is where the title comes in.

From Merriam-Webster: ar·mi·stice (noun): temporary suspension of hostilities by agreement between the opponents

Because THAT is what the band HAD to do to not self-implode and only give up one full album of amazing music plus a small EP (and a catchy tune from "Twilight" plus three more on that song's EP).

Overall, I love this album and think everyone should get it (plus the band's 2006 release, "MuteMath" and 2005 EP "Reset").

Yes, it is what I feel is very different from "MuteMath" and I may lean more towards that old freshman release but this is a different animal. "Armistice" compliments "MuteMath" rather than surpasses it and I can not wait to see this quartet out of NOLA perform live this fall for the first time. I can only imagine these songs being played live with King channeling his inner Keith Moon on the kit and Meany closing his eyes, playing the keys as he belts out of a verse while Mitchell-Cárdena lays down the funk and Hill makes you think, "What is that sound? OH! WOA!" on a small club stage as a sweaty fanbase sings along and I take photos from right in the center with my good ol' Canon 40D Susie.

(Feel free to correct any of my musical inaccuracies regarding instrumentation above and below, PLEASE)

www.mutemath.com
www.youtube.com/mutemath


First Impressions at 2:30 a.m. Revised at Noon upon second listening.

"The Nerve"
Right off the bat gets me "dancing in my chair," which is similar to a hula girl on a car's dashboard. I really dig this forgot we had heard it as the lead single or at least on the bands Website. What a surprise.

"Backfire"
Again, very drum heavy but the drums sound very different from what I have grown accustomed to with Mute Math. Almost reminded me at first of a Maroon 5 tune. Listening again, it's not really the guitar but the other instruments that remind me of said Maroon 5-ness and how Meany sings the song. It's not a bad thing, just a comparison I assure you. What the heck is that fun guitar effect about 1:40 into the tune? Whatever it is sounds great. I love how the bass (I suppose) makes the song - or speakers rather - "rattle", especially as the disk leads into

"Clipping"
I am assuming that is probably not the bass at this point but instead Hill's guitar. Or least on this song it is the guitar. Man, I sound like an idiot. My musician friends could certainly serve to explain what it is though. Liking the piano keys going all throughout this though. The string solo (violin?) is quite interesting later in this song too, especially when it mixes it up with the keys and the guitar to lead into chorus "Anymore, I don't know what is right anymore ...". In a way this song is a little chaotic, or about a little chaos, which compliments what I hear as somewhat chaos going on musically too.

"Spotlight"
So Mike and George are not really keen on this song. Say Mute Math can do better. But I like it. It sounds different from the "Twilight Mix" (which, I assume, is self-explanatory HAHA as that obviously says "Twilight Mix"). I like this one though. Sounds faster, bass is a little heavier. I do wonder how many takes it took them to get the clapping right though. Course I may just be a complete idiot and the product of a lower bitrate from the soundtrack on my computer. Yes, I am sure that is it. Dumbass. Wait, that makes the first three sentences useless though. Still think it sounds a tick faster.

"No Response"
First slower song of the album. It must just be my computer speakers but I swear this disk has more bass heavyness to it, which I am not complaining about. The drums sound so raw here and I love that. This track does not sound overly polished.

"Pins and Needles"
Another slower tune. Almost jazzy sounding number with the drums but at the same time sounds very intimate and minimul with the piano and guitar with Meany's voice. The rest of the instruments do no distract but fill it perfectly. So much going on but sounds so simplistic to me. Then it ends and stringed instruments begin to play, sounds like an old time movie theme or movie score here, which is awesome and yet so random. Really liking this song now that I am reading the lyrics to it too as it plays.

"Goodbye"
Kicked it back up a notch. Is it sad I want to get some roller skates when I listened to "Goodbye" again? Again, the drums really keep the pace going on this with the rest of the instruments filling in to make the sound fuller and add effect at the exact right times. Is that bells I hear being played late in the song? And again, strings. Eager to hear the drums live on this (and all these tracks) but especailly on this track, to hear how he finishes it off on stage. Hill has an almost Edge-like guitar going here at the start. I wish it had continued in the song though. Curious ... could this be a MuteMath's addition to the "New Moon" soundtrack if they were to be featured? Fits.

"Odds"
A little slower. Meany's vocals sound very different to me on this song about love that did not work out, or is it something greater that did not work out? Something else that would be better off? Almost reminds me of an 80s breakup song but with a more modern sound.

"Electrify"
Different. Faster vocals, drums working with the guitar and later bass more together. By halfway I just had to sit back and listen.

"Armistice"
Sounding funky and more clapping! The Funk is the horn section. The Funk is the bass. It is that bass line being played that adds the funk to the funkyness. To me that is the more noticeable instrument rather than King's drum kit on this tune. The addition of a brass section is an excellent choice too. Vocals sound a little soft too. Woa there's more funk, horns, bass, some clapping ... makes you shake your booty a little, bow your head down and shake it too.

"Lost Year"
First reaction? "Whoa, this is different." Soft. Loving Meany's keyboard skills here. Sound's like a very intimate song but becomes more powerful later in the tune. Song hits home for me too (as it will for many people). "If a talk could really solve this/What are we fighting for?/Words hurt more then they arm us/Don't say anymore/Anymore". Sad tune with an optimistic wish at the end to at least remember the good. I wonder, could it also be about the creative fighting the band had in the studio as they attempted put the album out before getting some outside perspective?



"Burden"
Heavy on the bass with a great guitar mix coming in as King keeps a more simple beat (for him) that does not distract you to say, "Whoa! Listen to the guy on the skins!". Really enjoy how Hill's guitar works into the song too. Then King's scatting drum solo before Meany sings "The Devil is not the nature that is around us, all around us/ But the nature, that is within us all ..." as everything slows down (think the slow down part of "Stall Out"). Then, a little bit of a breakdown, a drum solo white noise and Fin. The end. The vocal echo during the quite part is cool too, as does the added violin in the background. Or is that just keys and a guitar?

"Clockwork" (Bonus Track)
Loving this song's beat. Need to read the lyrics but I definitely think it is a strong song. Why make it simply a Bonus Track? Ya, it has been out since 2007 (YouTube video's show this), but still. Hmm.