Math Rock!! !

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I stumbled upon the following group, known as 'BATTLES.'

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpGp-22t0lU[/youtube]

I really love the sound! Apparently, it's been lumped into the genre known as Math Rock/Nerd Rock.

Any suggestions for something similar..?

And this video by BATTLES is a real trip...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkgQ88G8Hj8[/youtube]

Lest I forget, the above video features AS musician Gary Numan.

Thanks for that video clip. I have always loved Gary Numan's voice but lost touch with what he is doing recently. I went to Wikipedia to find out why it is called Math Rock rather than techno (it did sound like techno). According to Wikipedia, Math Rock features many unusual time signatures and time signatures that change within the song. So when written out it looks like a complicated problem involving fractions. Wiki didn't actually say that is why it's called math rock but I couldn't find anything else in the description that looked math-y. I also like bebop jazz which has even more jarring rythm switches but nobody ever calls it Math Jazz.


So why do they call it Math Rock? Is it the rapid and complicated changes that look like fraction problems when written out or is it something else?

I believe you are correct. It's the complex time signatures which gives 'Math Rock' it's monicker. You are also correct that you wouldn't call bebop jazz 'math jazz'. I think part of the Math Rock labeling comes from the techie or geek cultures. Like some forms of jazz, much of this music would've been simply labeled avant garde.

I wonder if it helps, or hurts, to market music within communities with specific labels? Does it cause music to fall off the scene quicker, because a label quickly dates an aesthetic..?

On a related note, Gary had a new album of material come out this month!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGiuajhBv7s&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

I've heard of Battles - it's interesting stuff so I really ought to listen to some more of them.

'Math rock' is a weird definition, but a really cool band I've heard who have been listed in that category are the Shefflield instrumentalists 65daysofstatic. They use weird time signatures and mash together electronic and guitar in a really refreshing way...one of my fave bands at the moment.

'Retreat, Retreat!', 'The Radio Protector' and 'Crash Tactics' are good 'uns...and if it's weird time signatures you're after, 'Mountainhead' is 16/9 or something. Considering how 3/4 has me tied up in knots, I don't really know how they manage to pull that off.

*thumbs up*