MUTEMATH indulge their experimental side with
Armistice, the band's first album since "Typical" climbed up the Billboard charts two years prior. While "Typical" featured Technicolor guitars and arena-ready vocals, the songs on
Armistice don't reveal their hooks so easily, cloaking themselves in electronics, strings, and ambient guitars while largely avoiding the poppier elements of the band's previous album. For all their experimental wrapping paper, however, these tracks still deliver what has become
MUTEMATH's signature sound: a melodic brand of alternative rock that combines Paul Meany's tenor voice with an epic, nocturnal ambience reminiscent of
Radiohead,
Muse, and
the Music. There's a good deal of dance-rock here, too, and the angular "Goodbye" is a welcome reminder that
MUTEMATH's work can target the feet as well as the head. This is essentially a thinking man's album, though, more indicative of the band's breadth than its ability to make hit singles. ~ Andrew Leahey