Alt-rock band Mutemath hasn’t released an album in four years, but that’s not a bad thing. The group has clearly taken the extra time to adjust their sound and put out some pretty good material on their fourth full-length album.
With Vitals, Mutemath has essentially created an electro-pop album. If you preferred their previous straightforward alt-rock sound, you might be disappointed. But, like me, you probably won’t be—Vitals seems to take inspiration from popular alternative acts such as Phoenix, Passion Pit, CHVRCHES, and even Half Moon Run, and it works.
I’m a strong believer in the idea that bands should always try to change things up, instead of rehashing similar sounds and concepts. The lead single from the album, “Monument,” gave me the first impression that this album was taking a new direction in sound, but I was initially slightly let down by the track.
“Monument” is probably one of the most straightforward pop songs Mutemath has ever put out. It’s catchy, and even a bit cheesy, but it’s not a bad song. I think I was only underwhelmed because I expected the rest of the album to also be straightforward pop, but that’s not the case.
The band’s most important change with this album is that instead of the fast-paced, high-energy tracks found on previous albums, Mutemath has slowed things down and put out some slower, dreamy synth songs. They actually pull this off quite well, thanks to some great production, instrumental, and vocal work.
“All I See” is a stripped-down, synth-heavy ballad. “Remain” is similarly slow-paced. These tracks are an interesting showcase of the band’s ability to shift from one genre to another.
There’s still some really upbeat and catchy stuff as well. “Joy Rides” fits right into that category, and it’s probably my favourite track on the album. It’s like an ‘80s dance song brought into the modern era, and it’s easily the most accessible song on the album. “Light Up,” “Used To,” and “Stratosphere” are also standout tracks.
However, after listening to the album once, I was a little unsure of what I thought. I really liked some songs, but I was unsure about others. Keeping that in mind, this is an album that gets better the more you listen to it; most songs grew on me after my third or so time listening. Only one track, “Composed,” felt like filler.
If you’ve never even heard of Mutemath, you could just as easily start at this album and enjoy it if you’re into alternative music. But I would definitely recommend checking out their past records as well. Overall, Vitals is good. I had no problem sitting down and listening to the full album from start to finish several times—something I can’t say about a lot of other bands.
