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Mute
Math
Artist: Mute Math Label: Teleprompt / Warner Brothers Time: 14 tracks / 63:20 Bonus Disc: 6 tracks / 33:19 The story of Mute Math’s journey to their first major-label full-length CD release has become rather well known. After the release of the band’s EP, Reset, which was the product of Teleprompt Records (an independent label, pretty much created as a vehicle for the band), it became apparent that Warner / Curb Records had planned on distributing the band specifically to the Christian marketplace against the members’ wishes, and apparently in opposition to pre-arranged contractual agreements. Rather than caving in to the temptation of keeping major-label distribution, the band made the bold move of suing the label and recording their first CD independently and taking it on the road, selling the self-titled, self-produced debut CD at concerts and online. Whirlwind touring exposed the band to enthusiastic sold-out crowds across the country, as word-of-mouth about Mute Math’s dynamic stage performances and innovative music spread from clubs in L.A. and New York to the Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo tours throughout the summer of 2006. Before the summer tours were over, news came to excited fans—who couldn’t get enough of Paul Meany (keyboards, vocals), Darren King (drums, samples), Roy Mitchell-Cardenas (bass), and Greg Hill (guitars)—that the lawsuit had been settled and that Warner Brothers would be distributing a re-mastered, ‘new’ version of Mute Math’s full length, self-titled debut to retailers everywhere. Integrity put the smack down on the Recording Industry, and all was right with the world! Mute Math’s first ‘official’ product was being released, not only re-mastered, but to include several songs from the Reset EP, and (with the first 5,000 copies) an extra disc featuring a six song live set from the 2006 tour! For a detailed overview of the Mute Math CD, you can refer back to my original review (go to ‘past reviews’ and look under ‘M’), where I go into detail about the incredible lyrics, wonderful songwriting, and outstanding musical and vocal performances. So, what’s different about the ‘new and improved’ Mute Math? For a start, you get “Plan B,” “Control,” and “Reset” from the band’s increasingly hard-to-find debut EP. From the ‘previous version’ of the album, we lose “Without It” and “Polite” – the former, being a wonderful song alluding to the disbanding of the legendary Earthsuit band (among other, more universal things), and the latter being a short, percussive instrumental ‘bridge’ between songs. There are also some minor edits and altered arrangements (most notably in “Break the Same,” which loses a bridge and a few lyrics, and “You Are Mine,” which fades differently and drops a repeated phrase at the end) which will go un-noticed by most people, but will be sorely missed by hard-core fans who have internalized the CD in its original form (I’m still in grief counseling over the omission of the almost-whispered final phrase from “You Are Mine.” Ah, well – life goes on….). In return for those losses, we gain newly re-mastered (and sonically improved) songs, with some parts even re-recorded (new bass and drums on “Control,” and new guitar on “Plan B”). Of course, the live set, consisting of “Collapse,” “Typical,” “Chaos,” “Control,” “Noticed,” and “Break the Same” is a must-have (buy yours soon – the bonus disc won’t last forever!) for any fan of this band, whose live shows have become the stuff of legend. A real delight is the extended treatments we get to hear on the last three songs, where Meany on keyboard, and King on drums, stretch out into airy improvisations – the ending of “Break the Same” hints at the wonders of what this band does onstage with King leading the band into a frenzy of percussion. Strangely missing from both the studio disc and the live disc is “Peculiar People,” from the Reset EP, which is always a crowd favorite and a high point of the live shows, whenever it’s performed. In short, this is a CD that you should pick up, even if you already have the original version. One can only hope that a live DVD is in the works, because momentum is in their favor, and Mute Math is a band that’s definitely on the move. Meanwhile, we have the next-best thing in this excellent major-label debut: Mute Math. By Bert Saraco (www.myspace.com/expressimage
Solid TOCKS
A link to the original review http://www.tollbooth.org/2006/reviews/mutemath.html
I had the opportunity to see MuteMath perform at Harvest Moon Festival 2005 in Edmonton, Alberta - one of the band's rare Canadian performances. MuteMath blew away every other band that year, including Thousand Foot Krutch and my beloved Project 86 (which is not to say the headliners were bad, they were great, just not... MuteMath.) For whatever reason? I was content with the show, passed up the EP, and went on my way. Were it not for a unique set of circumstances, my MuteMath experience would start and end with that performance. The new self-titled cd is
not distributed in Canada. I had not the interest to order it off
the Internet with so many other cds physically in store demanding my listening
attention.
However, I walked into my local Christian bookstore (independently owned
and operated) and was
So, on the day I bought Skillet's disappointing Comatose, I also walked out of the store with MuteMath's full-length. I was curious how it would compare to their amazing live show. My impression after the first few listens was that it was very good. Several spins later? I determined MuteMath to be one of the best albums I have purchased in the past year, on the level of Thrice's Vhiessu, The Listening's self-titled and Underoath's Define the Great Line." MuteMath have quite simply created an amazing, creative, unique rock record unbound by the "pop formula" without sacrificing melody for the sake of "experimentation." Strikingly, MuteMath's recorded
music sounds very similar to their live sound. Any band can record
an album of sonic depth and lushness; it
The album is meaty - over an hour. The first track "Typical" is bookended by two short pieces: the album opening "Collapse" and the eerie "After We Have Left Our Homes." Rather than a series of songs sequenced in some order without any kind of bridging, we have a craftsman's album. The production is very clean - a must with the sonic palette Mutemath "paints" with - heavy on the low-end and lively without being over-polished, over-compressed or otherwise squeezed of all emotion and life. Meany's vocals are emotive, he lets passion fill and enlarge his expressive pipes. Certainly the album was not recorded in one take, but the variety and dymanics of Meany's voice alone could convince a person that much of the disc was recorded spontaneously. The album's one question
mark comes lyrically. The lyrics are, certainly, very good. But I
pause. As a Christian, I naturally gravitate towards the idea that the
"you" Meany is singing about is God. I would suggest that spiritual matters
are being discussed, emoted, vocalized through the course of the album.
That said, certain songs could just as easily be about a loved one (I would
argue strongly that "Picture" is about the opposite sex and not the divine).
By no means is MuteMath guilty of painfully obvious, trite and banal "God
or Girlfriend" lyrics in order to "broaden their fanbase." However,
as has been the case since Delirious? made personal songs to God a popular
thing... eh. I would prefer to not presume upon Meany's intention
and let the music mean to me? What it means to me. On a technical
level: the lyrics never quite
My final conclusion about
MuteMath
is this: Unless you're a hardcore metal-head or rap fan, MuteMath belongs
in your collection. If you
And I would be remiss not
to mention the OUTSTANDING album artwork. Wow. Just wow. Stunning
photography and a beautiful,
Ryan Ro | myspace.com/hollandrow
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