Popmatters (USA), by Aarik Danielsen. The latest in a line of artists to share Seattle’s indie-pop pedigree; a band name that suggests a group of charming introverts; and a style that infers what The Smiths would have sounded like with a sunny side—perhaps musically analogous to Belle & Sebastian. While these elements might seem all too familiar, chances are you’ve not heard the likes of Math and Physics Club before. On what is ultimately a very engaging EP, the band treats listeners to their brand of sensible mid-tempo guitar rock that places emphasis on winning vocals and well-crafted melodies. Only twelve minutes and four tracks in duration, there is enough richness in each song to make the disc seem a fuller affair, and Baby I’m Yours presents a case that the time is ripe for Math and Physics Club to earn some notice. While each track is solid in structure and delivery, the album’s bookends are most captivating; the title-bearing opener has a dreamy little shuffle to it while closing track “Do You Keep a Diary” casts some ambient sound into the mix and possesses an infectious melody that would have made the track a hit at the heights of the ‘60s pop/rock revolution.Indiepages (USA), by Chris Macfarlane. Another stellar single from one of today’s best indiepop bands! By now, everyone should be well-acquainted with this band, and anyone who’s ever adored the Smiths or Belle & Sebastian already has this fantastic new EP - and if they don’t, they certainly should! The title track may be the star of the show, but the sleeper favorite is really “In This Together”, a gorgeous song that really deserves the title ‘instant classic’. Rounding out the EP are “Nothing Really Happened” (one of their most Smiths-ish songs yet) and “Do You Keep A Diary”, which is the band’s take on disco-pop, and yes, they succeed with flying colors at that, as well.
Aversion (USA), by Jennifer Doyle. If you’re a good, old-fashioned girl, or dating one, that single goodnight kiss at the end of date can be anything from an uninspired formality to a hint at great things on the horizon. Math and Physics Club’s sophomore EP’s certainly a long kiss goodnight that sends you to bed with your head in the clouds. With a neat-and-trim four-song track listing, the Seattle band doesn’t have any wiggle room on Baby I’m Yours, but it doesn’t need it. Cutting across a wide slice of pop, Math and Physics Club’s EP does what every great goodnight kiss does. It doesn’t just make you want more, but sets your mind racing about all the possibilities in your future. The title track opens the album, with a zippy chunk of jangle-pop that bears more than a small resemblance to The Smiths, with sparkly guitar melodies punctuated by drum work that’s surprisingly adept and agile. “Nothing Really Happened” relaxes a little bit, sinking into a folk-jangle hybrid that’s a twee backdrop for Charles Bert’s librarian-esque sighs that’s more of a reminder of the band’s full-length, and “In this Together” breaks out the brushes for the drum kit as the band sweetly swoops through an indie-pop/orchestral pop hybrid that’s just a finger’s width from becoming too precious to take seriously. “Do You Keep a Diary” closes the EP with a wonderful surprise, as the band drops into synth-pop mode, as a heavy bass line and electropop drums go nuts as guitars come in to pull the song out of the synth-pop formula and remind us of Math and Physics Club’s guitar-pop origins. Only the strapping rhythms in the opening track and the electro moments of the closer should come as a surprise to anyone who’s even tangentially familiar with the Seattle band’s output, but it’s enough to make you start to wonder. What other tricks does the band have in store for us? What else will ignite our passions? Just like after closing the door behind you after a turn-you-to-putty goodnight kiss, we’ll just have to revel in the moment and dream about what’s yet to come.
Three Imaginary Girls (USA), by Erik Gonzales. As a fella, I suppose I should be somewhat ashamed to admit I love shoes. Not that I’ve gone all Imelda Marcos and have a roomful of shoes to wade through every morning, but I am a sucker for a good pair a colorful soccer shoes or sporty sneedles. What do shoes have to do with Math & Physics Club? Well, it is the first you notice if you pick up their new EP, Baby I’m Yours, two pairs of excellent shoes on legs covered with stylish jeans crossing some city street. Luckily, the shoes aren’t the only thing impressive about the EP. Math & Physics Club continue to produce some of the finest melancholy modern rock on this (or any) continent. Baby I’m Yours features four new songs for your listening pleasure, and Math & Physics Club pull no punches, so if you loved their self-titled debut, you’re bound to get all fuzzy about the new EP. That being said, Math & Physics Club do try a few new things; namely, they introduce a little more variety in the rhythm section. The title track lacks the almost signature MAPC brushed drums, which are traded in for real drumsticks to drive the gentle, post-Smiths melody, and the song is pop rock at its finest. The bigger change might be the electro-pop turn taken by the band on “Do You Keep a Diary.” The song takes the Belle & Sebastian comparison in a new direction, almost sounding like a hybrid between the aforementioned band and the Pet Shop Boys. It works remarkably well for a band built on a foundation of simple arrangements, coming across like a song from a future Math & Physics Club that fell backwards through time to us. Meanwhile, “In This Together” and “Nothing Really Happened” fill in between and bring us the Math & Physics club we know and love. “Nothing Really Happened” is especially gorgeous reworking of what is supposedly one of the first songs written by the band. The mixture of the Marr/Morrissey melody and the gentle violin are like a warm fall evening by the sound. So, if you’re in need of something to keep your attention as you wait for a new Math & Physics Club album, Baby I’m Yours is excellent gift from the band just in time for the holidays. It shows the band is the master of its domain, crafting soft and beautiful pop songs with the best of them.
Fensepost (USA), by Andrew Fenstermaker. I love the cover art for Math And Physics Club releases. It’s all quite consistent. With Baby I’m Yours, the group resorts to the photography style found on their self-titled full length, though the overall layout matches the early releases in Weekends Away and Movie Ending Romance. This time it’s amidst a pastel-like light green backdrop. Charles Bert has found the love of his life. It became blatantly obvious on the self-titled LP in “La La La Lisa”, a tribute song to his wife—the couple recently had twins, which removed MAPC from the show-playing spectrum the past several months. “Baby I’m Yours” follows suit as Bert adds another trophy tribute song to the collection he’s built for her. Their sound has not really changed since their inception, which hinders some artists but not this one. James continues to lay down light lead guitar melodies atop Bert’s softly strummed acoustic and Ethan Jones’ basslines. “Nothing Really Matters” can also be found on a comp of local artists, but here there seems to be a slightly heavier percussion and a bit more of a highlight in Saundrah’s violin work during the bridge (however, this could simply be my imagination). “Do You Keep A Diary” breaks away from the traditional MAPC piece in that the percussion leans toward the electronic. It was also written by Ethan Jones, who joins Bert on vocals. With a campfire-like chorus, the song, like most off Baby I’m Yours, will easily find its way into heads: Lily don’t you even dare / I’d follow you most anywhere / Just hold on for one more day / I promise you.
Indie-mp3 (UK), by Tom. Funny enough Baby I’m Yours from the new EP of the same name by Math and Physics Club is not even the strongest song here and could easily be supplanted by any of the remaining three. It’s short, jangly and catchy and for anyone else it could be a minor classic. However delve deeper into the EP and you will find tracks that displace the title track with ease. Are missing The Smiths? Then try Nothing Really Happened which sounds like it was recorded in the shadows of Strangeways. This is a re-recording of a demo sent to Matinee in 2004. It’s no wonder the label signed the band. The band sound less like The Smiths these days and In This Together demonstrates this perfectly. Trumpets, violins, hand claps and a few ba ba bas takes care of that. If I ever used the word twee to describe indie pop this would be the nearest I would come. The best waits until last with Do You Keep A Diary which is driven by the keyboard heading towards the dance floor. With this EP the bar is raised just that higher.
Press Play, Record (USA), by Joseph Kyle. I haven’t received any loving parcels of pop goodness from indie-pop mavens Matinee Recordings in nearly a year. But when I discovered that Math & Physics Club had released the EP that they had discussed in my interview with them a while back, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the label’s still around and releasing good music. So I quickly bought this EP, because I want to support this wonderful band and the label. And I have to say that that the music found on this little record is simply wonderful. If anything, they’ve blended the best pop records from the Sire Records roster circa 1989 into a pleasantly modern pop record. Seriously, I know people focus on MAPC as carrying on the torch for the Smiths, but, honestly, these ears hears The Ocean Blue, especially on the wonderful “Nothing Really Happens.” The title track is a fast paced little pop-rocker; “In This Together” is a snappy little song, and I really think that the departure of the final song, “Do You Keep a Diary,” is a direction worth pursuing. There’s a reason people love Math & Physics Club, and this record proves it. A fine little record, this.
Erasing Clouds (USA), by Dave Heaton. Kudos to Seattle’s Math and Physics Club for continuing to put out EPs that share no songs with their album, yet are just as good. Their third EP Baby I’m Yours stands strongly with the first two, and the group’s self-titled debut album, as an example of pop songwriting that presses all the right buttons, in terms of melody, wit and emotion. Baby I’m Yours has four charming songs – a little romantic, a little melancholy – that flow style-wise naturally from their outstanding debut LP. There’s a touch of the Smiths to “Nothing Really Happened”’s vocals and melody, but that’s far from a bad thing. The title track is catchy and sweet, a portrait of love’s power over common sense. It’s as attractive as a single should be, though truthfully any of these 4 songs could be considered an A side in spirit. My favorite, the hit single in my mind, is “Do You Keep a Diary”. That’s also the one that’s most a “departure” for the band, due to its New Order-ish synth and drum machine base. I love that texture to it, but even better is the gorgeous melody itself. And the lyrics demonstrate one last time, as if we needed a reminder, that one sad little love song can be as complicated as the human heart.
Left Hip (Canada), by Gordon B. Isnor. Math and Physics club continue to keep it short and sweet on their newest Matinee EP, Baby I’m Yours. You’d never guess that they’re a Seattle group unless you know the city more for the softer sounds of Six Cents and Natalie, Tullycraft or Carissa’s Weird. Math and Physics Club drew a member from the latter group, and the two bands share a melancholy violin sound. What they do sound like is a classic British pop group from days gone by - think Smiths or Math and Physics Club’s contemporary compatriots the Lucksmiths. Jangly guitars awash with tremolo and reverb, a boppy rhythm section that keeps it light with brushes on the drum kit, sad and hopeful romantic vocals and that beautiful violin all make for a perfect pop formula. The group hasn’t changed that formula much if at all over the course of their string of EPS, a seven-inch and full-length on Matinee and all I can say is thank god - if ain’t broke don’t fix it, right? Do You Keep A Diary does update the formula a touch on “Do You Keep A Diary” - the track features hints of inspiration from Giorgio Moroder - think “Electric Dreams” - it’s a pretty track with 80’s synth bass and drum machines and it fits in perfectly to the Math and Physics Club sound. If I had any say over what makes it onto the pop charts these days, you’d see Math and Physics Club right up there at the top… Perfect for rainy days, new romances or quiet Sunday afternoons sifting through old photographs and thinking sweet thoughts. Really nice indie pop, the finest Math and Physics club release yet.
Is This Music (Scotland), Thomas O’Neill. The opening and title track to this short player, ‘Baby I’m Yours’, ambles by in cutie, anorak blandness, with a passing nod to the Smiths, and perfunctory jangle. It is the weakest number on the EP but luckily the rest of the disc is as twee as a Pastels wet dream – and I mean that in a good way. The second song picks up again on the Smiths thing, both in vocals and melody, and is as catchy, fragile, melodic and innocent as all pop music should be. The highlight, though, comes with track three, ‘In This Together’, which is all sweeping violins, jangling guitars, feyness, ba ba ba ba’s and “rainy days and Mondays”. These are songs which could have quite easily have come off of NME’s C86 and sound more Bellshill than Seattle. The lack of testosterone and excitement probably mean this isn’t for most, but if you carry a satchel, sport a pair of Clark’s shoes, or have a fondness for duffle coats, this may well be for you.
Pennyblackmusic (UK), Malcomb Carter. It is strange that in every review you read about the various Math and Physics Club EPs and their sole album mention will nearly always be made of their similarity to the Smiths musically. While the Smiths always gained praise for the photography on their record covers, the Math and Physics Club also deserve praise for the way they dress their releases yet that is, however, hardly ever mentioned. To be fair the cover of this latest EP has been noticed by a select few. Whether that’s down to some people having some kind of weird foot fetish is another question, but it’s an eye-catching sleeve even though it’s a simple photograph of a young couple’s feet clad in casual footwear. Nothing outstanding, erotic or particularly interesting but for some reason it kind of sums up the summery pop tunes on offer within this cover. There’s a happy-go lucky, all is well with the world vibe from that cover photograph right through to the very last sound on the final tune on this 4 song EP. Which is exactly what we have come to expect from this Seattle based five piece even if it is a sound light years away from what many people still expect from any band hailing from that city. It’s that happy/sad thing that Math and Physics Club excel at. The usual accusations can be rolled off again ; that all the band are doing is updating the C86 / Sarah sound for the latest decadem but really, what the hell is wrong with that? So, apart from the vocals the band sound like the Smiths and the Lucksmiths, again; so what? There are a lot less worthy bands to be influenced by and the Smiths were hardly 100% original anyway, like many of their era and any period since it can all be traced back to the melodic pop of the 60’s. As for the twee comments that litter some reviews…I can remember like it was yesterday wondering, even at the very young age I was when it was all new, what all the fuss was about with four guys from Liverpool singing ‘She Loves You’ and telling the world that they wanted to hold some girls hand. But how often are the fab four accused of tweeness? Okay, so a certain living member occasionally has to fend off those kind of remarks about his work now…but then no one dared to mention it. Sarah Records didn’t invent tweeness. They just made an exceptional job at keeping it alive, much like bands such as Math And Physics Club are doing now. And for that we should be thankful. The lead song, ‘Baby I’m Yours’ is classic Math and Physics club , all chiming guitars, those vocals sounding nervous and vulnerable above a melody which, as usual is catchy from the off. The following song, ‘Nothing Really Happened’, was one of the tunes on the band’s original demo tape which they sent to Matinee Records in 2004. The band have made a new recording of the song which is the one featured here and the weeping violin which is all over the song adds nicely to the melancholy in the vocals. ‘In This Together’ is everything we have come to love about the Math and Physics Club, quoting the Carpenters in the lyrics , the ba-ba-bas and some lovely guitar lines with that violin again weaving in and out all add to another outstanding song that really is too good to be tucked away as song number 3 on an EP. ‘Do You Keep A Diary ?’ closes this four-tracker and it’s almost as if the band have saved the best for last. Taking a more electro / synth-pop sound to close the EP wasn’t a bad idea and it leaves us wondering if Maths and Physics Club are going to explore this slight shift of sound further on future releases. This limited edition (only 2000 copies) EP looks good and sounds even better. Here’s hoping that the Math And Physics Club continue making their happy/sad but beautiful pop music for years to come.
