Play Dead - MUTEMATH
This was originally published on the S&R Blog.
When you listen to enough music it becomes harder and harder to surprise you. Those moments where your eyes open wide like cartoons in shock and awe are fewer and farther between. Even for music that hits you right where you want it can be difficult to illicit the physical reaction we all got so often as kids.
My eyes involuntarily expanded not once, but three distinct times during “Hit Parade”, the opening track from Mutemath’s fifth studio album, Play Dead. When the shifting riff to the chorus kicks in, when the ethereal bridge seems to literally descend from the aural heavens, and, when the drums breakdown when you think there couldn’t be any more tonal shifts in a single-tempo song. It all sets the tone for what is a strange and interesting ten-track LP that rarely if ever lets up on the weirdness. This is a breath of fresh air to me, who found their previous effort (Vitals) a bit too pop-oriented for my tastes. On this go around, Mutemath take their guitar/keyboard combinations to bizarre heights. There are moments when I’m not sure which instruments are which as the sounds blend into a perfect mix of melody and harmony and rhythm. Listening to an album that the artist clearly considered as a work of art on every song is unusual, even for the best artists. No song sounds the same and yet it is obvious that they are all from the same minds. That oxymoronic combination makes Play Dead a vital album to add to any collection.
Check out MUTEMATH’s Play Dead on Spotify or Apple Music.
And check out Mike Wohl on Spotify and Apple Music and Soundcloud!