Big Awesome – Bird Feeder

Self-released, 2012

A young trio with an affinity toward ’90s indie-rock moments and the intricacies of math-rock, the interesting guitar lines and proficient rhythm section indicate it’s very likely Big Awesome has a great LP in their future. Available as a ‘Name Your Price’ purchase at their bandcamp, this EP is well worth a listen as each song touches on a different element of indie and punk, all with high energy and pop melody intact.

Links: Facebook | Bandcamp

BATS – The Sleep Of Reason

Richter Collective, 2012

Complex. Engaging. Experimental. Powerful. Listening to BATS is one of the rare occasions where a band are truly impossible to pigeonhole. Post hardcore, pop, and math rock are my best stabs at explaining the frantic torrent which when unleashed on their second full length manages to effortlessly jump from dirty crushing distortion to wonderfully poppy hooks, all presided over by intricate, playful guitar work. The scream/shout/sing/talk vocals continue their exploration of the science versus religion/belief theme in a typically unique way, suiting the odd time signatures and Jekyll and Hyde musical landscape. The Sleep Of Reason will definitely be a love it or hate it album, and I’m solidly in the love it camp. Chaos never sounded so beautiful.

Links: Bandcamp | Label | Amazon

Former Animals – Former Animals

Self-released, 2012

Combining some intricate, psychedelic guitar-noodling with asymmetrical freestyle jazz drumming, the self-titled debut from Sacramento 4-piece Former Animals is not one for the casual listener. Heavily technical but also rather hyperactive: sometimes ideas are allowed to linger only momentarily before spiralling away to be replaced by something in a completely different time signature. The short jam “Minneola” is terrifically unsettling, and it would be fascinating to see what kind of feverish dreams might be inspired by the meandering, math-rocky “Lullabies for Tomo”. Finally, “An Elephant in the Room” offers a wonderfully decadent ending to this confounding EP.

Listen & Buy: Bandcamp

Tall Ships – Everything Touching

Big Scary Monsters / Blood and Biscuits, 2012

Bursting into the world with aplomb is Tall Ships’ gripping debut album. Comprised mainly of soaring post-rocky landscapes, each slice of the record develops with layer upon layer of loops that turn the wide, open spaces into Byzantine constructions – demonstrated magnificently in closer “Murmurations”. “Ode to Ancestors” is an unusually Darwinian take on a love ballad, while the rollocking “Gallops” is a sure-fire indie dance floor hit but with an intelligent twist. It may not be a perfect record, but its flaws only add to the sense of latent puissance.

Buy It: Label | Amazon

Mutiny On The Bounty – Trials

Best Before Records, 2012

There’s a lot of quality math-rock around at the moment – see recent Wot Gorilla and The Cast of Cheers reviews – and the trend continues with this Luxembourg(ish) quartet. Their Matt Bayles-produced sophomore tosses post-rock and post-hardcore into an ever energetic melting pot; imagine This Town Needs Guns covering Thrice songs and you might be somewhere close. MOTB cram the record with ideas, and when they hit the mark – which they frequently do – Trials is head-noddingly irresistable.

Buy It: Label | Amazon

Wot Gorilla? – Kebnekaise

Self-released, 2012

Bright, proggy math-pop from Halifax; Kebnekaise serves as Wot Gorilla?’s debut full-length proper after a couple of EP releases. Given the band name (taken from a Genesis track), and math-rock’s often irreverent nature, it’s perhaps surprising to find a lot of heartfelt emotion in Mat Haigh’s delicate, almost Claudio Sanchez-like vocals. It’s a large reason why the album is as good as it is, besides the melodic intricacy, constant tempo-shifts, and infectious songwriting.

Listen & Buy: Bandcamp