Categories : Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 3.5/5 Released: September 26, 2006 Reviewer: David Coats |
Just about everything that could have gone wrong for Mute Math did during the recording of their major label debut – including Hurricane Katrina interrupting the recording process in their hometown of New Orleans, and a bitter dispute with their record label.
The band signed with Warner under the impression that they would be marketed through the parent organization; the label, on the other hand, intended to market them exclusively to the gospel marketplace through subsidiary Word Records. And so, after recording the Reset EP in the fall of 2004, and with fans anxiously awaiting a follow-up, the band sued Warner for breach of contract. The band and label finally settled, paving the way for the release of their debut LP.
With influences ranging from U2, The Police, Stars and Broken Social Scene, the record is at once encouragingly progressive and fascinatingly retro, combining stellar musicianship with a sense of confidence and artistic ambition that makes this one of the more creative records you’re likely to hear this year. Aggressive rhythms and unusual syncopations occasionally overshadow the strength of the band’s melodies, and while the record is well-mixed, Paul Meany’s Sting-smooth vocals can occasionally be lost behind the wall of 2000’s-alternative-meets-80s-new-wave sound (especially evident on the bonus live CD).
The record’s first half, containing most of the band’s live favorites, is structured more cohesively than the second, which tries to integrate a handful of tracks from the debut EP and which has an uneven amount of slower-paced, more atmospheric songs. Highlights are numerous, though, including the frenetic ‘Chaos,’ live staple ‘Control’ and the change-of-pace ‘Break The Same.’ The band’s lyrics are solid, though clearly a notch behind the music. Regardless, Mute Math is a band that has the potential, like their aforementioned influences, to change the direction of alternative. All in all, a very promising next step.
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