Armistice

Mutemath indulge their experimental side with ARMISTICE, the band's first album since "Typical" climbed the charts two years prior. While "Typical" emphasized 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 debut. For all their experimental wrapping paper, however, these tracks still deliver what has steadily become Mutemath's signature sound, melding Paul Meany's tenor voice with an epic, nocturnal sound 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.