Math Rock

Math Rock can be best described as angular, dissonant, guitar-driven experimental rock that often lapses into odd time signatures and stops and starts suddenly. I've been getting into it quite a bit lately, and here are some of my favorites:

Battles - Mirrored (2007)

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Battles are from New York, and they are really, reeeally awesome. Mirrored was one of my favorite albums of 2007 because of the different experimental sounds they achieve with their instruments while still being very rhythmic and catchy. It's incredible what these guys can do with sound.

Marnie Stern

Marnie Stern, also from new york, is a young-ish hipster girl who happens to be ridiculously good at guitar. She has two albums out (both named here in chronological order) and tours with Zach Hill, who is also ridiculously good, and drums for the band Hella.

Download: Every Single Line Means Something (From In Advance of the Broken Arm, 2007)

Download: Transformer (From This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That, 2008)

Foals - Antidotes (2008)

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This album isn't as mathy as Battles and Marnie Stern; what Foals do is mix math-inspired guitar work (all notes above the 12th fret, barely any chords) with insanely catchy british post-punk drum beats, basslines, and vocals. The result is this album, which has become one of my favorites of this year.