Armistice is the second full-length album from the New Orleans based group known as Mute Math. This album is, at its base, a pop/rock album that employs a plethora of sounds and effects along with traditional instruments. At times this makes them sound something like Radiohead or Coldplay, added to their own definite American alternative sound. To be quite general this album is not good nor is it bad, it is a little of both. In Armistice, Mute Math likes to present us with interesting beats and sounds at the beginning of each track but then doesn’t always correctly finish the song out. It seems as if they desire to appeal to the pop sense in each of us, without being classified as such, and this is problematic. The song Clipping starts off with a great aggressive synth sound with fast paced high hat and a great low end, coupled with moments of great string interaction, but the song is lost when they transition to the louder, poppy lyric-lead chorus that is repeated to boredom. They are at their best on tracks like Odds, Lost Years and Valium when they embrace their mellower tempo and give us discernable lyrics with pleasant melodies. But on others like Goodbye and Burden they seem to attempt these pop-like crescendos that just repeat too many times and become lackluster. On the whole, Armistice might appeal to Mute Math’s specific niche but its doubtful it will expand their popularity to others.
Written by Sean Poynton Brna
