New Orleans's Mute Math draws its influence from some of the original cornerstones of alternative rock, including bands like the Police and U2. But while soaring hooks and atmospheric guitar tones abound on the group's 2006 debut, MUTE MATH, the group also displays a penchant for synth-heavy experimentation, off-kilter structures, and ambient textures. The combination is a winning one: Mute Math paints with a sophisticated art-rock palette, with heavy doses of electronica, dub, and post-rock thrown in, yet their songcraft demonstrates impeccable pop instincts. Immediately accessible and sonically adventurous, MUTE MATH is a promising debut from these up-and-coming contenders.

Emerging from the ashes of the Christian band Earthsuit, Mute Math might have you thinking they've gone the post-rock route with "Collapse," the instrumental opener on the band's self-titled debut. With its hypnotic rhythms, droning synths, and extraterrestrial guitar noodlings, the song sounds like a long-lost collaboration between Tortoise and Brian Eno. But once the anthemic, arena-ready rock groove of "Typical" kicks in, with vocalist/keyboardist Paul Meany sounding like a dead ringer for Peter Gabriel fronting U2 at their most accessible, it becomes clear that this quartet has higher aspirations.

The band lists experimental artists such as Björk and DJ Shadow among their influences, and it's the unexpected ways in which those stylistic quirks rear their heads that makes Mute Math more compelling than your typical modern rockers. The musical dialogue between Darren King's off-kilter beats, Roy Mitchell-Cardenas' dub-influenced bassline, and Meany's synth squiggles on "Chaos" recalls the Police circa Reggatta de Blanc, while the spacy trippiness of "Stare at the Sun" comes off like a more radio-friendly outtake from Radiohead's OK Computer. Listening to their debut, you may find yourself wishing Mute Math would take their sound even further to the experimental extreme. For all the band's intriguing stylistic flourishes, at times their poppy sound has more in common with Sting's bland adult contemporary work of recent years, lacking the power and passion that make their best songs explode with energy. But when they do hit their stride, you get the sense that these guys are gonna be huge, even if you wish they'd be willing to toil in experimental obscurity a little while longer. ~ Bret Love