Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fantastic Sophomore Effort, August 18, 2009
This is one of the most quietly anticipated albums this year I think. And it pays off well. Armistice begins with "The Nerve," a fun, heavy rock song with a chorus of "Set it in fire!" Sure to be a winner at live shows. It's a perfect way to start off the album: with a song that sounds like you're having fun recording it. The next song, "Backfire," is slightly by the books but is saved by Darren King's incredible drumming and Greg Hill's sparse guitar riffs. The third song, "Clipping," may be my favorite song on the entire album. It's a perfect blend of everything MuteMath does well. Rhythmic-drumming, incredible singing, pulsing bass, beautiful pieces layered on top. The next two songs worth mentioning are "No Response" and "Pins and Needles." "No Response" is a slow-rhythm pop song with toasty-warm vocals and hip-hop drums. There's a particularly wonderful part towards the middle of the song: after the first chorus, the organs cut out to reveal a softly-played piano part subtly-tweaked with what sounds like a pitch-shifter. "Pins and Needles" begins sounding like a real subtle salute to dubstep before Paul cuts the pitter-patter drums with beautiful vocals. Piano joins the arrangement during the chorus and the song almost takes a turn for In Rainbows-era Radiohead with incredible drumbeats and a hauntingly beautiful string arrangement at the end. "Goodbye" may be the biggest misstep on the album. It's a little much with its blend of Coldplay piano and almost-Middle Eastern string part towards the end. But it's still enjoyable, which is a big part of why this album works. Then comes the biggest save of the album. "Odds." I found myself trying to find the beat my first few times through. I absolutely love the rhythm in this song. And the way the snare and handclaps come in on following choruses... it's incredible and it's never overboard. One of the neatest parts of the song is realizing that there are ghostly "oooohs" going on in the background throughout the whole song. "Armistice" is another prime part of the album. Handclaps, sick drumming, and an extremely fun guitar part open up the song before it quiets down for the verse where the best part of the song is revealed: the bass. Roy Mitchell-Cardenas' superb bass on this album shines through particularly well on this song. It's going to be incredible seeing them perform this live. "Lost Year" being the only ballad on the album, "Burden" had to be all about energy. It's this album's "Break the Same." It builds on a real steady drumbeat, explodes into a drum solo and then gets extremely calm before slowly building up once more, adding layers and layers of sound and drum parts before Darren just breaks free of his restraints and lets loose on his drumkit, solidifying his place as one of music's best drummers. It's a wonderful sophomore effort and gets 5 out of 5 stars from me (since I can't put 4.5 out of 5 stars).
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What the Funk?, September 3, 2009
Sophomore albums are like sequels to great movies. At first you get excited about the prospect of seeing all your favorite beloved characters again. Then you become apprehensive. A thought pops into your head. "The Empire is striking back? Sweet!" Then another. "There's going to be a female Terminator?! Ah, crap!"
Mutemath's latest CD had me saying both. Their first, self-titled, album was nearly flawless. It has yet to leave my CD player. And when it does, it'll be a cold day in hell. So as I frolicked out of Hoodlum's with the CD in my hands, I thought to myself, "Wait... what if they can't do any better than that first album?"
So I set the mood for a fresh listen. I waiting until the evening, rolled the windows of my car down, lit some candles, poured a glass of wine, put on some smooth jazz (then took it off realizing how difficult it would be to hear two CDs at once), and slid Armistice by Mutemath into the CD player.
I was ready to rock. That was my first problem. I was initially let down. This was not the Mutemath I had fallen in love with. There were no catchy riffs, no loud, impassioned vocals, and no instrumental experiments.
But one day, upon my fourth or fifth listen with Armistice in the background, I got it. In a musical epiphany, I realized just how much soul these boys from New Orleans have. You can't rock to this album. You have to get down to it. That can be done with a little less head movement and a little more pelvis.
I realized that Mutemath was able to accomplish one thing twice. They were able to create a fresh album.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
More consistent and more creative/unique than their self-titled debut album, August 29, 2009
"MuteMath," their self-titled debut album, was awesome (my favorite songs being Noticed, Typical, Chaos, Plan B, Control, and Break the Same) and I have been a big fan of MuteMath's ever since. I have been anticipating the arrival of their second full-length album for quite some time. "Armistice" is another excellent album in its own right and MuteMath has further evolved their sound. I would give it 4 1/2 stars.
Some overall observations in comparison to "MuteMath:"
1) I would call "Armistice" even more creative and unique - the musical styles (incl some disco to a little jazz), effects (e.g. clapping) and instrumentation (e.g horns) they use are quite varied and generally very effective. You can tell it's MuteMath for sure, but they have definitely evolved
2) Not as many songs are as instantly accessible, catchy and upbeat (like Noticed, Typical and Chaos in particular). It took me several times listening through the album to "get" some of the songs and for them to grow on me (and they pretty much all have). However,
3) The quality of the songs across the board is higher, imo, and there is more consistency and there aren't any songs that I just automatically skip (like a few on "MuteMath")
4) I think the new producer has done some good things for MuteMath, but not entirely - some of the production is a tad too much for my taste (but overall a bonus, imo)
It's tough to choose which songs are my very favorites, but I really like "Clipping," "Spotlight," "No Response," "Goodbye," "Odds," "Electrify" "Armistice" and "Lost Year"
The song "Clockwork" from the Spotlight EP was left off and I definitely recommend downloading that separately as well if you haven't already.
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