i am a sucker for math-rock, but i find that i often lose interest when there is less emphasis on melody than the ‘mathy-ness.’ that’s what Sleeping People really nails. they build up flurries of parts and never lose a sense of melody and chord structure.

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ohhh Daedelus. i’ve been following the mad-professor / victorian-gentlemen from LA for a while now, but his latest album, Love To Make Music To, is probably my favorite. it sounds like a greatest-hits, except with (almost) all brand-new songs. there are some great collabs, some super-dancy jams, and some of his signature-style old-samples-based tracks.

and if you haven’t seen it yet, Daedelus produced the song in this hilarious pro-bama video. you can see him occasionally in a white coat, surrounded by babes.

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i wasn’t expecting to be floored by this canadian band that i’d never heard of. heart-felt, airy, sometimes trip-hoppy, and always with a wonderful lush production, their new LP In Flesh Tones is a current favorite. dare i say i’m enjoying it more than the latest Sigur Ros cd…

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shamefully, i wasn’t aware of king crimson until this year. it has been great scanning through their huge, long catalog of albums and really seeing how influential and revolutionary their prog rock sound has been. i’ve had a special connection with their 1974 release, Red, which was written only as a three piece and on the verge of breaking up (for the first time). the last track, “Starless” is a masterpiece.

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i’ve been looking for a band like errors for a while. ever since my hot love affair with battles, i have been looking for more part-math, part-dance guitar/sequence-based rock, and errors is a new spin on that genre. switching between synths and guitars, they exercise their melody and layering abilities. i can definitely hear a mogwai influence.

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this is one of the most significantly fresh albums to come out in the various guitar-drenched genres of rock that i’m into this year. each track is a frenzied jubilation of various percussion instruments and tapped guitar parts. with this EP, they finally have a sound that i can attribute only to them. man, i wish this was a full-length.

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man oh man. i saw jerseyband last week and it was as good as i hoped. jerseyband plays music that they classify as “lungcore”, which i could only describe as horn-driven math-metal. their technical ability is mind-blowing and they also play tighter than just about any band in the world. this all makes sense to learn that they are eastman school of music graduates.

check out this song from their latest cd, lunch punch fantasy to get an idea. keep in mind that this was recorded LIVE.

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i can’t believe i hadn’t heard about this band until last month. to me, they kind of sound like a hybrid between cinemechanica and dismemberment plan. definitely one of the albums that i’m really looking forward to hearing this year. here’s a new track from their myspace.

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