INSTALLATION

In my mind, math/post rock is supposed to be one of, if not the, most inherently complex and creative genre. If there is to be any structure at all in a work, it is supposed to be highly unorthodox. Instead, it seems that certain conventions have taken over. Most bands tend to favour big stringy walls of sound, rapid acoustic guitar plucking sequences and two parts bitter for every one part sweet. Which is fine on it's own. I've been staggered by the beauty of tracks by completely unheard of bands p[laying the formula, but when everyone is doing it begins to lose meaning.

LITE doesn't do any of that.

What they play is very identifiably math rock, but they bring so much more to the table. On Installation they've matured beyond when I last heard them on Phatansia. They've dropped any semblance of the aforementioned conventions and in their place they add influences from hard rock, jazz, electronic, classical, funk and even a bit of a west cost surfer sound. They are weird and subtle where everyone else is grand and obvious and I love it.

I opted for 4 stars rather than five because if this album lacks anything it's a real hook. Something to endear you to the album in an emotionally powerful way. What contains instead, is a collection of creative, quirky and yes, (math-)rocking tracks. Installation is an exciting album from start to finish and LITE is a credit to their genre. This album's appeal goes way beyond the album artwork reminiscent of Princess Mononoke. I highly recommend it to anyone. It's what prog is all about.

The album is very helpfully available on Bandcamp. I only had to listen to two tracks before I moved from curious to whipping out my credit card. If I could recommend any two tracks to you, I'd say you should check out Subaru and Nomad.