Written by: Prasoon Man Shrestha - 2022015, Grade XI
Posted on: 11 July, 2021
Math Rock is Prog Rock made by people who like Punk Rock but do not want to play punk music. When you listen to Math Rock it seems messy but unbelievably organized at the same time. Math Rock started taking shape around the mid-’90s in the USA. The influences of Math Rock are Indie Rock, Prog Rock, and more Hardcore stuff like Punk and Grunge. Most people even call Math Rock an Emo Jazz because it has the aesthetics of Emo rock and the improvised and more unstructured feel of Jazz.
Math rock is filled with unusual time signatures. Most of the pop songs use a 4/4 time signature whereas, Math rock normally uses a 9/8 unusual time signature. Math rock consists of odd time signatures, switching time signatures mid-song, and playing different notes, all these combined make something complicated as the name Math Rock suggests. Math Rock in theory suggests something that requires a lot of math. Usually, most of Math Rock consists of no vocals at all, unusual stops and starts, and many other characteristics.
Math rock is aesthetically attractive and attracts the modern aesthetic and minimal trend. It is neither heavy nor too soft. Some of my go-to math rock bands are American Football, Toe, Tricot, and Don Caballero. For starters, I would recommend listening to Never Meant by American Football, and In the absence of strong evidence to the contrary, one may step out of the way of the charging bull by Don Caballero. These two songs roughly give an idea of what Math Rock is to the listener.
I completely understand whether you love or hate Math Rock. Math Rock is impressive but at the same time is not a genre that I choose to listen to all the time, I have to be in a specific mood to listen to Math Rock. If you are on the fence you should give it a try. It just might be your new favorite genre.
