Math And Physics Club - Lived Here Before

Wie man aus Seattle stammen und von Chris Hanzsek (Soundgarden, The Melvins, Green River) produziert werden kann, ohne die eigene Soundidentität zu verlieren und nach Grunge zu klingen, zeigt der Math And Physics Club auf seinem aktuellen Album „Lived Here Before“. Denn dieser Club ist weiterhin weniger für maskuline Flanellhemdträger geeignet als für niedliche „Twee As Fuck“ T-Shirt-Besitzer.

Jedoch klingen Charles Bert (Gesang, Gitarre), James Werle (Gitarre), Ethan Jones (Bass, Piano, Keyboards) und Kevin Emerson (Schlagzeug) auf ihrem vierten Album - ihre letzte Veröffentlichung, die Compilation „In This Together“ (2016), nicht mitgezählt - weniger fröhlich und beschwingt als zuvor. Melancholischer Gitarrenpop im Stile von The Go-Betweens, Belle & Sebastian, The Shins oder R.E.M. trifft es vielleicht eher. 

„Lived Here Before“ bietet 11 neue Songs in 34 Minuten und ist als Download, CD und LP (heavyweight blue vinyl, limited of 500) erhältlich.

It starts off nicely enough; Marblemouth sounds like a slowed-down Bluetones and there’s some lovely little Smiths-esque riffs on the poppy Threadbare. The initial flutters of love hit a peak on Broadcasting Waves with lyrics like, “I built a radio tower to signal your heart” but Like Cinnamon is just sickly sweet and by the time Charles Bert sings “What if we were wrong, lines were thinly drawn” on the Belle & Sebastian twee that is Drive To You, you can’t help but think it’s over.
(Narc Magazine)

Lived Here Before was concocted in an eleven day recording session with fabled grunge producer Chris Hanzek. The band relocating to the wilderness of Snohomish, Washington, their only company coming in the shape of, “Douglas firs and Swainson’s Thrushes”. Listening to, All The Mains Are Down, it’s not hard to imagine it coming from a place of rural idyll; lush, jangling guitars are cut through with lackadaisical vocals and latterly a, bright, upbeat flourish of almost barroom piano.
As ever with Math and Physics Club, beneath the bright and breezy Real Estate-like guitar work, lurks a darker edge. Lyrically, it seems to deal with an emotional cross road, a place, “where all the mains are down with communication overground, while you make up your mind, I make up mine”. A world where decisions are unclear, the correct path forward blurred and unsure. There’s a sense that Lived Here Before is a darker, more world-weary piece than the band are currently known for, reflective perhaps of the times in which the record was made. If this is the result of the band turning a mirror on the world, then they might just have made their most reflective, intriguing and exciting record yet.
(For The Rabbits)