- ALBUM: Odd Soul
- ARTIST: Mutemath
- LABEL: Warner Bros. Records
Managing Editor
Initially typecast as a Christian-Rock equivalent to U2, Mutemath has been steadily gaining more mainstream recognition, building an easily identifiable sound that defies modern cliché’s and the pretentious failings of the past.
On “Odd Soul,” Mutemath cultivates a lyrical philosophy that rocks hard with surprising operatic fullness, while still allowing the band the dissonant space needed to not overcomplicate their simply constructed pop songs.
Don’t let the hard-edged exterior and low-in-the-mix guitar leads fool you; this is just sophisticated pop wrapped in the layered textures of synthesizers, orchestral strings and compressed guitars – all of which are staples of the smart pop music of David Bowie and The Talking Heads. These subtle mixtures even capture the advantageous post-rock sound of Tortoise, which is impressive for a band that had to engage in a lawsuit with label heads at Warner Bros. Records for a mainstream marketing effort.
Aside from the technical aspects of the music’s construction, “Odd Soul” gives Mutemath a naturalistic staying power. The rhythmic nature of the first half of the disc is apparent in every drum roll and fill, relying heavier on the drummer’s virtuosity than any other instrument. Innate and overwhelmingly tight grooves are the glue that holds “Odd Soul” together, and without it, all of the fancy trickery mentioned would just seem like an un-enjoyable phantom mist of mismatched tracks.
In fact, the album spans so many different genres in one sitting, it would be hard to pinpoint what kind of band Mutemath really is. The painfully dated vocals help give listeners clarity. This can be seen as both a negative and a positive, and can be the truest litmus test of who will enjoy the music or pass it off as another failed attempt at bringing retro elements back into music.
However, these head-scratching abnormalities make Mutemath, a band known for writing theme songs for movies like “Transformers” or “Twilight,” that much more inviting, and interesting to listen to.
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