Math rock explained

Math rock
Stylistic Origins:
Cultural Origins:Late 1980s, United States and Japan
Derivatives:
Other Topics:

Math rock is a style of alternative and indie rock[2] with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush.[3] [4] It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (including irregular stopping and starting), counterpoint, odd time signatures, and extended chords. Bearing similarities to post-rock, math rock has been described as the "opposite side of the same coin". Opting for a "rockier" approach to songwriting and timbres, the style is often performed by smaller ensembles which emphasize the role of the guitar.

History and precursors

The albums Red and Discipline by King Crimson,[5] [6] as well as Spiderland by Slint,[7] are generally considered seminal influences on the development of math rock. The Canadian punk rock group Nomeansno (founded in 1979 and inactive as of 2016) have been cited by music critics as a "secret influence" on math rock,[8] predating much of the genre's development by more than a decade. An even more avant-garde group of the same era, Massacre, featured the guitarist Fred Frith and the bassist Bill Laswell. With some influence from the rapid-fire energy of punk, Massacre's influential music used complex rhythmic characteristics. Black Flag's 1984 album, My War, also included unusual polyrhythms.[9]

Two songs on Yes' album Fragile (1971) have drawn attention – Paul Lester of Classic Rock writes that "Five Per Cent for Nothing" finds drummer Bill Bruford "inventing math rock",[10] while "Heart of the Sunrise" was described by Pitchforks Chris Dahlen, Dominique Leone and Joe Tangari as "a deftly constructed proto math-rock epic".[11]

Polvo, Don Caballero, Slint, Bitch Magnet, Bastro and Ruins are the genre's pioneers.[12] [13]

Examples of modern math rock bands include Delta Sleep,[14] Covet,[15] Tricot,[16] and TTNG.[17]

Characteristics

Math rock is typified by its rhythmic complexity, seen as mathematical in character by listeners and critics. While most rock music uses a meter (however accented or syncopated), math rock makes use of more non-standard, frequently changing time signatures such as,,, or .[4]

As in traditional rock, the sound is most often dominated by guitars and drums. However, drums play a greater role in math rock in providing driving, complex rhythms. Math rock guitarists make use of tapping techniques and loop pedals to build on these rhythms, as illustrated by songs like those of math rock supergroup Battles.[18] [19]

Lyrics are generally not the focus of math rock; the voice is treated as just another instrument in the mix. Often, vocals are not overdubbed, and are positioned less prominently, as in the recording style of Steve Albini. Many of math rock's best-known groups are entirely instrumental such as Don Caballero or Hella.[20] [21]

A significant intersection exists between math rock and emo, exemplified by bands such as Tiny Moving Parts[22] or American Football, whose sound has been described as "twinkly, mathy rock, a sound that became one of the defining traits of the emo scene throughout the 2000s".[23]

Etymology

The term began as a joke but has since developed into the accepted name for the musical style. According to Matt Sweeney, singer with Chavez, the term started because his friend would not react at all while listening to his music, then proceed to take a calculator out to figure out how good the song was.[24] Not all critics see math rock as a serious sub-genre of rock, and some of the genre's most notable acts have disavowed the term.[25] [13]

Artists

See also: List of math rock groups.

Asian

Math rock has a significant presence in Japan; the most prominent Japanese groups include Toe, Tricot, The Cabs, and Lite.[26] Other Japanese groups which incorporate math rock in their music include Ling Tosite Sigure,[27] Zazen Boys and Mouse on the Keys[28] while the Japanoise scene features bands such as Ruins, Zeni Geva, and Boredoms.

Taiwan has a very small indie music scene, of which math rock is an emergent genre that is quickly gaining in popularity, with well-known math rock bands including Elephant Gym.[29]

Math rock also has a presence in South Korea, led by bands such as Cotoba[30] and Dabda.

North American

Polvo of Chapel Hill, North Carolina is often considered one of the household names in math rock, although the band members themselves have disavowed the categorization.[31]

In California, power pop groups Game Theory and the Loud Family were both led by Scott Miller, who was said to "tinker with pop the way a born mathematician tinkers with numbers".[32] The origin of Game Theory's name is mathematical, suggesting a "nearly mathy" sound cited as "IQ rock."[33]

Although the Seattle grunge scene was not widely associated with math rock, some consider Soundgarden to be one of few exceptions, due to the odd time signatures found in many of their songs.[34]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=style|id=post-rock-ma0000002790|pure_url=yes}} Post-Rock Music Genre Overview]. December 24, 2016. AllMusic.
  2. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=style|id=math-rock-ma0000012250|pure_url=yes}} Math Rock Music Genre Overview]. October 23, 2016. AllMusic.
  3. Book: Body, Alex E.. Rush : song by song. 978-1-78155-729-7. [Stroud, Gloucestershire, England]. 1088907970. June 20, 2019.
  4. Book: Progressive rock reconsidered. 2002. Routledge. Holm-Hudson, Kevin.. 0-8153-3714-0. New York. 45890399.
  5. Web site: Sodomsky . Sam . King Crimson Red . Condé Nast . Pitchfork . 14 February 2020.
  6. Web site: Dominique . Leone . 21 Nov 2002 . The Top 100 Albums of the 1980s . Pitchfork . 16 Mar 2021.
  7. Web site: Stablein . Lee . Under The Influence #24: Lapsarian on "Spiderland" by Slint! . Metal Noise . 15 February 2020.
  8. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r14208/review|pure_url=yes}} Live and Cuddly ]. August 1, 2007 . Allmusic.
  9. Book: Blush, Steven . Steven Blush . American Hardcore: A Tribal History . Black Flag & SST: Thirsty and miserable . https://books.google.com/books?id=PFJjCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA72 . 2010 . . Los Angeles . 978-1-932595-98-7 . 72 . ... its seven-minute Metal dirges and Fusion-style time signatures confused many fans. .
  10. Web site: Lester . Paul . Yes: Fragile . Classic Rock . 6 August 2024 . 27 November 2015.
  11. Web site: Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Yes: The Yes Album / Fragile / Close to the Edge / Tales from Topographic Oceans / Relayer / Going for the One / Tormato / Drama / 90125 . Chris . Dahlen . Dominique . Leone . Joe . Tangari . 8 February 2004 . Pitchfork . 19 January 2008.
  12. Web site: 2024-04-04 . Read An Exclusive Excerpt From The New Book 'Math Rock' By Jeff Gomez . 2024-12-05 . Stereogum . en.
  13. Web site: Goldner . Sam . Hella: Hold Your Horse Is (Deluxe Reissue) . 2024-12-05 . Pitchfork . en-US.
  14. Web site: Delta Sleep Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More... . 2024-12-05 . AllMusic . en.
  15. Web site: Michael Astley-Brown . 2023-04-05 . Yvette Young names the 10(+) guitarists who shaped her sound . 2024-12-06 . guitarworld . en.
  16. Web site: Tricot Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More Al... . 2024-12-05 . AllMusic . en.
  17. Web site: This Town Needs Guns Songs, Albums, Reviews, B... . 2024-12-05 . AllMusic . en.
  18. News: Battles: Math rock made with room for improvisation . Washington Post . December 5, 2024 . Battles is rooted in the irregular time signatures and guitar tapping of math rock, but the experimental trio is constantly pushing sonic boundaries..
  19. Web site: Leonard . Colin . 2011-06-07 . A math-rock supergroup loses its voice, and gets some soul . 2024-12-05 . POLITICO . en.
  20. Web site: Hella Biography by Bradley Torreano . AllMusic . December 5, 2024.
  21. Web site: Don Caballero Biography by Steve Huey . AllMusic . December 5, 2024.
  22. Web site: September 9, 2014 . A Tiny Interview with Tiny Moving Parts . VICE.
  23. Web site: Never Meant: The Complete Oral History of American Football . NOISEY. February 2, 2016 . February 2, 2016.
  24. Web site: LeMay . Matt . August 12, 2006 . Interview: Chavez . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140109091530/https://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6502-chavez/ . January 9, 2014 . July 17, 2015 . . [Math rock] was invented by a friend of ours as a derogatory term for a band me and James played in called Wider. But his whole joke is that he'd watch the song and not react at all, and then take out his calculator to figure out how good the song was. So he'd call it math rock, and it was a total diss, as it should be..
  25. Book: Kamp, David.. The rock snob*s dictionary : an essential lexicon of rockological knowledge. 2005. Broadway Books. Daly, Steven, 1960-. 0-7679-1873-8. 1st. New York. 69. 55990376.
  26. Web site: A Complete Guide to Japanese Math Rock . Tokyo Weekender . 27 July 2021 . 19 February 2020.
  27. Web site: 10 indie bands from Asia you need to know . Time Out Hong Kong . November 27, 2019 . 27 July 2021 . en.
  28. Web site: Mouse On The Keys live in KL Music in Kuala Lumpur . Time Out Kuala Lumpur . August 3, 2015 . 27 July 2021 . en.
  29. Web site: Robson . Daniel . 6 August 2022. INTERVIEW - Taiwan's Math Rock Heroes Elephant Gym: 'We Can All Resonate Together in Music' . 22 October 2022. japan-forward.com . en-US.
  30. Web site: VĂ©lez-Cancel . Carlos . 16 April 2024. WFA: cotoba . 4 October 2025 . everythingisnoise.net. en.
  31. Web site: You can call Polvo math rock, but the numbers just don't add up . Redford, Chad . . October 3, 2016 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20110812060217/http://clatl.com/atlanta/you-can-call-polvo-math-rock-but-the-numbers-just-dont-add-up/Content?oid=1276608 . August 12, 2011 .
  32. News: Schoemer . Karen . Sounds Around Town: Miller Writ Loud . April 2, 1993 . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20131113235140/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/02/arts/sounds-around-town-832093.html . November 13, 2013 .
  33. Amar . Erin . Music: What Happened? Scott Miller on 50 Years of Singles in 258 Pages . July 2011 . Rocker Magazine . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20131101183016/http://www.rockerzine.com/index.php/2013/04/scott-miller-music-what-happene . November 1, 2013 .
  34. Web site: WAS SOUNDGARDEN A MATH ROCK BAND? . feckingbahamas. July 9, 2019 . December 19, 2023.

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