Mutemath - Odd Soul

I've been critical of Mutemath in the past. I wasn't super impressed with the band's self-titled debut (although I do enjoy that record) and Armistice didn't do a thing for me. A band that was hyped as a great live act wasn't translating to their albums for me. Nice band but nothing special for me.

Odd Soul is on a different level though. And by different level, I mean the band has completely switched their sound up and that switch is working for me. While fans of the band's previous albums will probably be disappointed, as someone who didn't connect with Mutemath, Odd Soul is a perfect reintroduction.

The first three tracks remind me of Gnarls Barkley, which could be why I dig this record so much. Odd Soul, Prytania (especially this track), and Blood Pressure all feel like they could have been tracks on Gnarls Barkley's Odd Couple record. Blood Pressure begins to kick things up high gear. Heads Up has a really nice swagger... Like an updated version of the Isley Brothers or something along those lines. A really groove laden track. Allies has some great guitar riffage and a ton of fat synth layers. Cavalries is a great throwback, classic rock sound instrumental that flows out of Allies. The Beatles meets the Mars Volta.

Well songs get repetitive at moments and at times my interest was in and out, in my opinion, it's still the best album Mutemath has released yet.