Most Popular

National Features >

  • Broward-Palm Beach New Times

    The Agent from Iran

    How a mother of two ended up in a plot to smuggle high-tech gear to the enemy.

    By Deirdra Funcheon

  • Westword

    Murder By Design

    In life and death, tattoo artist Kauri Tiyme made her mark.

    By Alan Prendergast

  • Village Voice

    My Brother the Slumlord

    Amy Neustein never could resist going public with her family dramas.

    By Elizabeth Dwoskin

  • Houston Press

    The Ghosts of Galveston

    A visit with the hurricane victims that a country forgot.

    By John Nova Lomax

Mute Math

Friday, January 20, at Gypsy Tea Room's "Tea Room"

By Darryl Smyers

Published on January 19, 2006

If it were 1978, Mute Math would definitely be called a "skinny tie band." With obvious influences in the Police and, um, the Fixx, this New Orleans foursome thankfully updates its sound with ambient textures and some kinetic psych-pop songwriting. Heralded on several religious websites (uh-oh), the songs on their eponymous debut certainly steer clear of the banalities inherent in Christian rock. Except for the obsessive instrumental prowess, tracks like "After We Have Left Our Homes," "Noticed" and "Stare at the Sun" are catchy mixes of '80s cheese and more recent postmodern fare such as the Wrens. Thank God (literally) that Mute Math doesn't let their piety get in the way of their engaging retro chic.