Planets - Planets

Planets, what can I say about you? Crazy, hypertechnical math rock from Napa, CA where the bassist uses an octave pedal to emulate guitar sounds as well as bass sounds and the drummer might as well break his drumset every time he plays. They play in full body white spiderman suits and project tweaked ass movies onto themselves and a screen behind their set. It's pretty great in the spirit of Hella and Tera Melos. The reason I'm being so loose and unofficial with my description is because I delve into the whole thing quite a bit in my article on Northern California Math Rock for Sputnikmusic, so read that.
Planets [2007] - Download

Upsilon Acrux - Galapagos Momentum

Upsilon Acrux are particularly weird considering their "math rock" status is non supported by nearly as many time signature and tempo manipulations as similar bands like Tera Melos and Hella. The raison d'etre for UA is their near constant guitar tapping. Sure the drumming has its neat accent variations and that stop-start dynamics are very pronounced, but the focus is on the acrobatic fretwork. There are moments where I love this, and moments where I am very underwhelmed. At the very least, UA are a band to give a listen.

Galapagos Momentum [2007] - Download - Review for Previous Album

Giraffes? Giraffes! - More Skin With Milk-Mouth

Math rock from Santa Cruz with a good mix of melody and psychodelia in the mix as well. In the spirit of Norcal math-rock it feels both jam-packed, as if it's an endless listen, but then ends all too soon. The band is just a drummer and guitarist, both of whom can play the other's instrument, which likely leads to nicely interwoven composition strategies. I've only listened through once but it sure is fun.
More Skin With Milk-Mouth {2007] - Download - Review

The Kidcrash - Recent Discography

The Kidcrash is a band that has gone through constant reinvention. They began humbly (with Beirut's very own Zach Condon as a frequent member) and their first LP, New Ruins, a pop punk / midwest indie type album that was released on Lujo Records (The Fall of Troy), to some positive response. The band since has disowned their older sound and have been crafting their current "mathy" sound since at least 2005. Their newer incarnation has yielded a stunning LP (Jokes) and two splits (to the best of my knowledge).

Split with Coffin Dancer (2007) - Download


Split with Arse Moreria (2007) - Download


Jokes (2007) - Download - Review


These releases can be purchased through the labels Init Records and Denovali Records. A super cheap copy of Jokes can be found here.

And lastly, here's a red hued video of them performing "Turtlelephant," the first track from their LP.

Tera Melos - Discography

Tera Melos is a band from Roseville, CA (outside of Sacramento). They play instrumental music that can best be described as a mix of math rock and post-hardcore. They have only released one proper LP (Tera Melos) from when they were a four-piece, but have since released an EP (Drugs to the Dear Youth) and a split CD with By the End of Tonight (Complex Full of Phantoms) as a three-piece. They are pretty awesome live. I saw them in 2006 at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco when they still had Worm in the band. So, below are three albums, two of which have reviews I've written, and a staged live performance of the first two tracks from Drugs to the Dear Youth.

Tera Melos (2005) - Download - Review


Drugs to the Dear Youth (2007) - Download - Review


Complex Full of Phantoms (2007) - Download


A Live Video of "40 Rods to the Hog's Head"