CLEVER GIRL

When listening to math rock, I always find myself far more drawn towards the artists which demonstrate a more subtle, beautiful tone and atmosphere, as opposed to those which consist mainly of instrumental freakouts, taking a band like Toe over a band like Hella any day of the week. This meant that there would be a good chance of enjoying Clever Girl's album to some degree, even if it would be a fairly inoffensive album, due to at the very least being a very pleasant one. Fortunately, what I ended up getting here was far better than that, making apt use of jazz instrumentation to further carry along an air of sheer beauty.

Elm immediately establishes a soft, lullaby-like tone with a delicate guitar riff, only backed up by further layered guitar lines, developing into a far more dense song with the addition of the incredibly precise drums, and the trumpet, which then takes over the main melody. I also really enjoy the charming (and only) vocals on this track, as that short "ba da ba ba' is just so fun and really brings out some neat character. The second track is more rhythmically focused, the interplay between the guitars and the galloping drumming comprising the bulk of the track, giving it a truimphant feel while still maintaining its charm and gorgeous nature. While Sleepyhead Symphony is the least remarkable track here, it's far from a step below the rest of the material here, the crescendos of the guitars throughout creating a nice sense of rising power without compromising the core identity of the material presented here, making for another exceptional track. Teleblister makes for an excellent closing track, being more upbeat and fast paced than previous cuts from here, but still remaining very pretty, revolving around a central melody that is frequently returned to in order to provide cohesion to another track that is quite freeform in structure, all around another great track.

On the whole, this is a barely known gem of an album that I personally find to be absolutely wnoderful in a multitude of ways. The musicianship here is nothing short of astounding, as can be expected by music of this type, incredibly precise, yet not mechanical in any way, and filled with subtle emotion, while the melodies being played are downright lovely. This would be a math rock album that I'd definitely recommend when looking to get people interested in the softer side of the genre, as I genuinely believe that it's high enough quality to warrant it being one of the first albums of the genre I'd show someone, given how accessible, yet high quality it all is.

Best tracks: All of them

Weakest tracks: None of them

Verdict: What I consider to be a near essential album to check out in math rock, as what it lacks in the insanity and intensity that a great deal of the genre is known for, it makes up for in spades through the carefully crafted compositions perfectly balancing the sheer beauty present throughout with enough moments of faster pace and intensity to provide a varied listen in which each track feels unique, and the freeform approach taken still has a cohesive sound to it.