Math rock is a funny term to define. It’s pretty much accepted that bands like Slint and Don Caballero started it. To me, it’s basically any band that favors rhythm over melody. Usually, they’re instrumental groups. A lot of the time, they’re duos, like Giraffes Giraffes, Hella, or Job Creators (ahem).
Very few math rock bands try to delve into the dangerous territory of vocals. Don Caballero attempted this a few times, mostly on Punkgasm. And as compelling as “I’m gonna turn you into a bottle of bleach / and pour you into the rug” may be as a chorus, most math rock bands let the instruments speak for themselves.
The notable exception to me would be Polvo, a band whose thin, cheese-grater sounds were streamlined and smoothed into the hook-heavy, delightful math rock jams of In Prism. The album is a masterful blend of vocals and math rock, especially “Beggar’s Bowl.”
But the wait for another bold and experimental and manic math rock vocal thing-a-ma-jig is over. It’s freaking Haybaby, baby, the hardest Brooklyn math rock you’ll hear today.
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