Mutemath

One Liner: I like their old alt-rock sound much more than the current electro-pop stuff
Wikipedia Genre: Alternative rock, indie rock, electronica, psychedelic soul, post-rock
Spotify Says Similar To: Copeland and Paper Route
Home: New Orleans

Poster Position: 9
Slot: ?

Thoughts:  Interesting.  I wasn't that in to the first few songs I heard, all from the 2015 album Vitals, but then their fourth most popular track came on, and its a different animal entirely.  That track, "Spotlight," from the 2009 Spotlight EP, shows an entirely different band from the more recent music they have been making.  And they remake that same song on 2009's Armistice album.  The old stuff on that EP, and on the eponymous first album from 2006 and Armistice in 2009, is more of a alternative rock sound that is pretty good (although Armistice drags a bit in the last third).  The hit track from that MUTE MATH album ("Typical") rings a bell, I might have heard it on the radio or MTV or something back then, but it only has 2.6 million streams on Spotify.

Dude.  Go watch that video right now.  That is cool as hell - in the vein of the OK Go guys making cool concept videos.  Best part to me is the way the drummer's sticks look when they fly up instead of down on each beat.  Also, a good song.  The guitar bits remind me of some britpop sound - Blur or Oasis or Stone Roses - while the overall sound is more like a Matchbox 20 or Tonic sound.

But then fast-forward 10 years to 2015's Vitals, and it is more of a pop-centric, electronic-forward sound.  Makes me think a little of Two Door Cinema Club or Saint Motel on the big excited ones. Lots of snaps and hand claps to go with a kind of funky synth style. The top track from that most recent album is called "Used To," and it tops their streams on Spotify with 4.4 million, although it is much more downbeat and chilled.

I feel like you also ought to hear the upbeat tracks from their modern catalog, so here is "Joy Rides," also from that 2015 album, which has about 1.4 million streams.

That beat and guitar strum actually makes me think of an old Haim tune.  But the exuberant discofied style makes me think of Two Door Cinema Club too much to ignore the comparison.   Their Wikipedia page says that they have resisted being called/marketed as a Christian band, even going so far as to sue their label about it.  Which is weird.  Just make a song called "Eating Satan's Ballzzz" on your next album and no one will be confused.

They have a live album, called Flesh and Bones Electric Fun, released in 2008, that shows a really good sounding concert.  If the ACL show was going to be the 2009 band, then I think I'd be excited about going, but since their most recent album shows the new electronic band, I figure I'll probably pass.

Recommend?  Probably not.