Album Review: Noumenon - Party Mathematics

Noumenon have set themselves the challenge of combining the intellectual stimulation of math-core with its absolute polar: partying. However, 'Party Mathematics' delivers an assault so great to the ears through its persistent distortion throughout every relentless second that any sort of party atmosphere is completely lost. This is where my main gripe with Noumenon lies; not only do they void their tag of being a party band by excluding any element of fun from their music, but there is also no light and shade on the record. If the songs were to just for a moment, their knack for making a lot of noise would have a far greater impact. Instead, the EP feels exhausted by the end of the third track because they don’t seem to have any other ideas except for making a racket over varying time signatures. For a math-rock record, it’s surprisingly unadventurous.

And the noise doesn’t stop there. The EP is pure chaos from start to finish, complimented by the anti-establishmentarian roar on ‘Baby, Baby Teeth’ of “They’ve got us in a cage… look what they’ve done to us”. It’s hardly an essential ingredient for a good ol’ shindig. However, the only other vocal Party Mathematics has to offer appears briefly at the climax of ‘Algoresrhythm’, providing the listener with the first actual hook of the EP. As a result, it is undoubtedly its highlight, as they deliver an instantly catchy, sing-a-long melody over their brutal hybrid of math-core with the dirty fun of Death From Above 1979. This provides a momentary glimpse into what Noumenon are trying to achieve with their math-party angle, but it is all too brief and all too late to save the record from being a huge misfire at an exciting concept.

1.5/5

'Party Mathematics' by Noumenon is available now on Big Scary Monsters Records.

Noumenon on MySpace

Alex Howick