MUTEMATH

MUTEMATH — yup, the name's all one word and contains all capital letters, and no, we have no idea why — has been one of rock's more unlikely success stories in recent years. Caught in major-label limbo in 2005, the band successfully won the rights to self-release its self-titled debut and moved tens of thousands of copies through its Web store. Warner Bros. re-released the disc the following year, and the New Orleans quartet has been on the road ever since, winning over crowds on the Warped Tour and as an opener for matchbox twenty. The recent This Armistice continues down the Police-esque experimental-rock path MUTEMATH laid out, with a bit less arena-rock pandering and a few more genuine moments of experimentation. But all of that's an excuse for the group's absolutely insane live show, which features human dynamo Darren King on drums: Your jaw will be agape for a solid 90 minutes while you watch him do his thing.
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Heisel, Scott