Big Scary Monsters, 2010

Adebisi Shank’s second album in a word: powerful. Each song is a steady groove with huge off-kilter riffs piled on top, occasionally helped along by weird vocals and a few synths. If you’re looking for a new album to blast while you’re cruising down the highway, look no further. RIYL: Battles, Maps & Atlases, Sargent House.

Tiny Engines, 2010

Chicago’s Castevet move above and beyond the (insert buzzword for outstanding debut bridging the gap between 90s Midwestern emo and early 2000s post-rock) of 2009’s Summer Fences with their recent Tiny Engines release The Echo & The Light. 8 tracks of blistering rhythms, gruff, aggressive vocals and jangly guitar, The Echo & The Light is chock full of accessible, unforgettable midseason jams. Check out track 4, “Lautrec,” for a taste of what is to come from the Illinois quartet.

Self-released, 2010

Being a big fan of the sadly defunct Counterfit, my ears immediately pricked up at the fact that Helen Earth Band contain former members of that band. Even better, it turns out the San Diegans continue Counterfit’s evolutionary track, and with brilliant results. Their American Football-gone-math melodics and harmonising vocals make songs that are superbly, dreamily, ambitiously, head-noddingly catchy. One of the best releases of the year.

Barsuk, 2010

Perch Patchwork takes two things that are undeniably cool – symphonic pop and math rock – and fuses them together in an awesome way. The crazy guitar tapping and drum calisthenics of past releases are still there, but they’re a bit calmer alongside the horns and strings. Add in the band’s powerful songwriting and the end result is the best album of 2010 so far.

Tiny Engines, 2010

Philadelphia-based band with math-indie-rock sound, with catchy, energetic songs. There’s a real punk sound to this album, but with twiddly guitar parts every now and again. High energy tracks throughout, big guitar chords and riffs soaked in fuzz and distortion are backed by solid, imaginative drumming as the vocals float on top.

Big Scary Monsters, 2010

After recently releasing a split with Hereford’s Talons, this is the latest 5 Track from the Chicago-based experimental math-rock outfit. Name-your-price download system is available on their Band Camp, and there are some intense tracks, ranging from big riffs to atonal fiddly ones whilst solid drumming keeps it all in check. Definitely worth checking out at a show by the sound of things.

Self-released, 2010

Part messy and jangly indie-emo (indiemo?), part sunny math-pop. The Californians’ debut sacrifices some listenability for the raw approach, and the vocals can be a touch unvarying, but this also makes the clean melodies all the brighter when they appear. Friggin’ awesome artwork, too.

Self-released, 2010

Imagine if Dave Davidson (of Maps & Atlases fame) joined Death Cab For Cutie and add a whole bunch of screaming – that’s a pretty good indicator of what Red Version sounds like. The whole indie pop + yelling your head off combination may be a little awkward at times, but if you’re a fan of catchy math-influenced music, this EP is definitely worth checking out.

Big Scary Monsters, 2010

Talons from Hereford have paired up with US band Noumenon for a ‘double A-Side’ if you will. Both playing instrumental rock, Talons provide the more epic-classical violin stuff, whilst Noumenon whack out complex time signatures and fiddly guitar parts, making for two quite different but great tracks.

Topshelf, 2010

Exceedingly pleasant math-rock from Washington. Think Don Caballero, American Football fed on an energy drink, or an instrumental Minus The Bear. Just the right blend of complexity and head-nodding catchiness.

Big Scary Monsters, 2010

This UK trio seem intent on defying expectation with their debut EP; the flamboyant synths and indie-pop of the opener could well be from a different band to the next couple tracks, which take an instrumental (except for spoken samples) math-rock route. The consistent quality and energy in the songwriting makes up for any inconsistency in genre, though.

Chocolate Lab, 2010

MTIO’s debut full-length is well-named – it’s a kaleidoscopic and psychedelic trip through jazzy post-rock, with the sparse, mostly indecipherable vocals sounding as if they’re worshipping some rare cosmic event. Keyboard and guitar solos roam the dense mix like hyperactive thoughts on a record that’s as retro as it is rife with modern experimentation. Gratifyingly weird.