Sinai Vessel - Profanity

     

     For a band that gets pegged with the "Math Rock" moniker, Sinai Vessel sound extremely personal. I've listened to the band before, and like revisiting an old friend, there's an almost overwhelming sentimental quality to the music. From the very first chords of "Cats," Profanity just exudes emotion and feeling.
    I could go on to describe the album musically, as would be the usual process, but I feel that to focus on this may distract from the true genius of this album: That being, the band's sense of intense emotional appeal, they're ability to to make you feel, whether you want to or not. The music, and the feelings that bleed from it, paint images in your head as you listen. It's impossible not to be moved here by the sounds of vulnerability, longing, and desperation. We can all relate in one way or another.
     On Profanity, Sinai Vessel creates more than just a musical work to listen to and get through. This transcends the casual listening experience, and becomes one of emotional, perhaps even spiritual significance. I imagine your reaction will be different depending on who you are and given your own experiences, but regardless of the listener, you'd be hard pressed not to be touched in some way by the band material here. Certainly one of the much brighter spots of 2014 so far.

-Andrew Oliver

Art Contest - Math Major

 
    Lo-Fi production may not be enough to make a Math Rock album seems completely different or unique, but it's a start. Indeed, sometimes a different way of listening to music is just enough to jar us away from passively sitting and receiving. It can help grip us, to gain our attention.
     On their album, Math Major, Art Contest do just that, by means of Lo-Fi production and more. While musically, you wouldn't be wrong in categorizing this as fairly textbook Math Rock and Emo, the band throws a couple of curve balls to keep themselves from being pigeonholed too neatly. The band's aforementioned production gives you a quality of listening you'd expect from a twee pop or indie surf band, thus, lending it a fairly unique feel.
     The band also makes a point to deviate from the constantly energetic and frenetic rhythms that define so many Math Rock songs. Tracks like "Jungle Book" slow things down considerably, giving the song more than sufficient room to breathe, while "WAV," though not entirely simple, contains many straight-forward strumming patterns which benefit the song immensely. Certainly, in my point of view, this is the band's strongest point. They don't feel the need to strap themselves to everything that comes with a Math Rock label. If frenzied, chaotic riffing doesn't happen to work in a particular context or song, they won't do it. If it does work, however, you can bet your savings that they'll do it, and do it well. With Art Contest, music is about doing whatever makes the song better, not about making themselves sound more like a certain style or genre. Unique? Maybe not. Refreshing? Absolutely.

-Andrew Oliver