MUDDY WORLD

Muddy World have done just this with Math Rock.

They have infused lots of Flamenco and Latin-American rhythms that are not present in the output of other Math Rock bands. They have also got a jazzy vibe going on too.

Finery of the Storm is an interesting debut album. Mostly instrumental (except for tracks such as Dewfall, Muddy Floor and Cut), it permeates and bubbles around the brain and never fails to dull the senses. It also has a groove! Much of their musical brethren sounds soulless and mechanical at times. I believe it is the panoply of styles that keep everything interesting. For such a young band, they also have a lot of talent. Sugita Kohei is especially impressive on the drums - being in a jazz style, rather than a rock one; therefore he shows some fine softer touches - whilst Soeda Yusuki's guitar playing is never too over-the-top. He often has a jazzy, flamenco tone too and does a lot of finger-picking. Murakami Keita, although not too dominant in the mix on bass, keeps the rhythm going throughout but also has his jazzy riffing moments as well. A very accomplished trio.

Stand-out tracks for me, are Lilac, Muddy Floor (especially some excellent bass- and drum-work here) and Granada. None of the tracks are bad though. All have their great moments. Indeed, Granada starts off much more post-rock in style (the symbols sounding much like waves lapping onto the beach) and then develops into a much heavier, jazzy tour-de-force, with jarring surf-guitar style. The last track ends on a nice subdued post-rock note and is an interesting way to end an album that is rather energetic at times. There is even often a bit of a King Crimson-esque edge sometimes.

The only slight down-side for me, is the use of vocals (in this case, in Japanese). It is not a personal gripe at the vocals themselves but rather, I just prefer my Math Rock as instrumental pieces. However, to give Muddy World credit, the vocals are mostly sung in non-math rock sections and not at all irritating. In fact, the vocalist has quite a delicate voice.

If you like this particular genre (including Post-Rock) and want something that bit different. Then I would definitely seek out Muddy World's Finery of the Storm, especially if you want something slightly less angular and jagged.

'Iron Ant' introduces Muddy World's formula of solid riff construction with sudden rushes of improvisation, the guitar and bass trading places, almost imperceptibly vining around each other. The musicians dance together as much as they play their instruments and it's an approach taken throughout the session, even Yusuke's breathy bossa nova vocals and near-Surf guitar lines, the Brubeck swing in seven minute 'Lilac', and proud meeting of Tango and garage jazz-fusion for 'Fever'. 'Dewfall' is inward and gentle, growing in sophistication from a humble arpeggio into Ipaneman-tinged strangeness and is paired well with 'Muddy Floor', unsettled wanderings of 'Apollo', almost Grateful Dead-like jams in 'Granada' and slow death of 'Neon'.

A divergence in the Math movement and an attempt at legitimacy for a dirty little genre, Muddy World are digging a bit deeper into the calculus of rock.