Math Patrol

This is a band that emphatically says Yes! to every musical idea, no matter how bizarre, difficult, or seemingly stupid. Songs feature the same riff mutating in a countdown from 7/4 to 3/4, fractions of beats added or subtracted without warning, or sections where the time signature and tone of the scale match the numeral pattern of three ZIP codes strung together.

Here's why it works: Each of these potentially random-sounding or arbitrary pieces are matched with others that tell a story, something that gives emotional resonance to the exercises. Sure, they're instrumentals and Math Patrol wouldn't be so presumptuous as to put words in your ears, but it comes through in the way the songs veer and swerve, build and crash down. Historic betrayals, dystopian crises, sci-fi adventures, pop culture homages and simple domestic frustrations all find expression in these songs, and the best part is you don't have to hear any of that to lose yourself in the wonder of where the music will take you next.

Ok, so what does it sound like? There are drums, a bass guitar and a small fortress of vintage keyboards, synths and organs. No lead guitar, no wind instruments, no vocals. Based on the responses from live shows, what Math Patrol sounds like seems to depend a lot on what you bring to the music yourself: DJ Shadow's atmospheric grooves, the aggressive instrumental flourishes of Yes, Battles' hypnotic glitch-work, the geeky spectacle of Man...Or Astro-Man? All of these or none of these, it's unique and you should listen.