One of the most particularly pleasing experiences for music journalists such as myself is getting to premiere the exact track you wanted from a release. Sometimes you get asked; more often than not, the band or the label pick. And when they do, sometimes the stars align and that one track that caused you to turn your head and go "huh? wow!" is the one you get to share with the world. This is exactly what's happening today, as Poly-math have decided to grant me the opportunity to premiere "No Such Thing As Now". First, some catch up for those unfamiliar: Poly-math are one of my favorite bands in the math/progressive rock scene. The band is from Brighton, which should tell you something if you've been keeping up with my writing or the UK math/post scene in general. They've been making their brand of dense, brooding, post-inflected technical music since 2013, excelling in a darker, heavier kind of math rock for over a decade.
Which is why I went "huh? wow!" when I first heard "No Such Thing As Now". Coming to us from their upcoming release, Something Deeply Hidden (which drops on April 10th), it is a track deeply steeped in a sort of desert rock vibe. The band even goes so far as to dub it "ethio-jazz", which I fully agree with. It has an overall brighter, sunnier vibe, a lighter touch which, nonetheless, does eventually lead to that Poly-math darker density near its end. But that density hits that much harder for being blended with redolent, whirling, bright guitars, what sounds like agile hand drums of some sort, and an expansive, progressive vibe. It's a new sound for the band and one which I am excited to hear them call "the direction we're going in next more than most of the others", as bassist Joe Branton said.
Especially excellent is the culmination of the track in a flagrant, satisfying crescendo, which leads straight into an epic return of the track's main theme. OK! Enough words. Make sure you click on through to the band's Bandcamp above and pre-order this beast. The entire album has plenty more excellent moments, ideas, and directions on it, including the tried and true Poly-math sound. But different! With a lot more prog, jazz, and other peculiar influences throughout. Huh? Wow!