Review Summary: A beautifully, well-crafted live album that has moved Mutemath up the charts of "Best Live Bands Ever".
There are not many albums that truly blow me away. It takes a lot to knock me off my feet and this album did just that.
I had never even heard of Mutemath until around 2011 when I was in Philadelphia, lounging around. I turned Palladia on just for the heck of it and there they were-the band in all of its glory. I still have never seen them live and after watching the Armistice live show on Palladia, I truly do consider them one of the top 5 best live bands of all time. They have everything that is needed for a live band. Their chemistry is ever so apparent as Darren King hammers away on the drums and Roy Mitchell-Cardenas slaps away at the bass and helps out his band mates whenever he can, whether its playing electronic instruments or playing with King. Meany, his passionate singing and interesting selection of instruments, such as the keytar and keyboard (which he does a fricken handstand on), mixes perfectly with the groove. The groove of the band is what keeps it together along with their fearlessness of playing big.
I have pondered since that day how live music should be played. I know now that Mutemath plays live music the correct way. They show off more live, but not to an annoying extent, (although sometimes I wonder how King is so creative with his lively beats). Mixing live innovation with pure musical talent is what these guys do so well, whether its when King plays drums on the keyboard, or when Mitchell-Cardenas plays drums with King in the song Armistice, or even when Meany plays that alien sounding keytar.
Their ability to demonstrate their abilities through almost seemingly crazy antics is perhaps better than any band that I've seen, (with the exception of maybe Keith Moon with The Who). Although no one can match the pure live sound of Phish, Mutemath sure shows off that they can compete with any band who is better live. In fact, after listening to their live album, I have problems listening to their studio recordings because I prefer their live music so much more. The listener can hear the pure, overwhelming emotion in their live music rather than their studio albums, especially with an album like Armistice, which I have trouble hearing the emotion of the music in.
Instead of speaking in broad terms now, I want to speak specifically about a couple of their songs. Although I love every song on the live album, there are two that really stick out at me. The first one is Clipping. With the long intro, I almost expected a song that would drone out and not live up to any epic standards. I was greatly mistaken. Clipping mixes the raw emotion of the music with the haunting singing of Meany, especially when he repeats: "Anymore, I don't know who to fight anymore, I don't know what is right anymore. Anymore". The groove at first captivates while Meany's singing draws you closer into the song itself. With King hammering away with 3 sticks at one point and the use of many stringed instruments, this song features so many different combinations of sounds while sticking around a main pattern. The build-up to the chorus where King plays a funky groove is, in my words, perfectly melodious. It still creeps me out knowing that there are guys out there who can write this stuff. This leads me to Burden.
Burden live is one of the most epic songs live that I've ever heard/seen. King never stops moving at lightning speed around his set, Mitchell-Cardenas never stops playing the funky, complex bass lines, and Meany never stops emulating his emotion through his Sting-like singing. I have probably listened to this song 200 times and have never gotten sick of it. The band never stops throughout it. I have never seen a band have the ability to have so much stamina, (besides maybe Tool), especially through a 9 minute song. King says they work on their endurance for shows to an incredible amount. They never want to stop for the audience, and this song shows it perfectly. It also shows a change in the course of the album. The album becomes more quiet, reserved, yet emotional in songs 5-8 with songs like "Odds", "You Are Mine", etc. Burden changes the course of the live show and brings it to its epic final ending in Reset/Break the Same. Along with the emotion change of the live album, Burden itself changes emotionally throughout the song. It starts out funky, catchy, groovy, the whole she-bang. It then changes to a quiet middle part of the song with Meany singing almost eerily and the band playing a more subdued, but still fast-paced electronic bridge. The song keeps building back up to the very strong, powerfully emotional ending where King lets the crowd play his cymbal. The live prowess in this song is almost unmatched by any other band that I've seen. The band, all over the place, playing so many different instruments, still keeps its chemistry strong throughout the whole song.
The incredible ending to the set when King, Meany, and Mitchell-Cardenas bang on the drums together makes the viewer/listener stay glued to his seat, amazed by the glory, and wanting to hear more. But that ending must be satisfactory for listeners who want more. I know I sure as hell do.
