With its harried shouting and hurtling, Nintendo-sounding synths, New England duo Math the Band crafts ultra-geeky, ultra-poppy geek-pop that's part Matt & Kim, part Atom and His Package. Kevin Steinhauser and girlfriend Justine Mainville spit out this second album in less than 25 minutes with the intensity and expediency of an air raid. Day-glo guitar, keys and drums swarm around the duo's over-caffeinated vocals until it's hard to detect any nuances as each song rockets past.
A good time is the top priority here, and Math the Band pillages Wang Chung's immortal command "Everybody have fun tonight" on the opening "Hang Out/Hang Ten" and swipes the chorus from R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" on the closing "It's Gonna Be Awesome." In between, "The Adventures of Brian Townsend" offers quick dance lessons and "Bigfoot" ponders whatever happened to that lovable, hirsute dude.
Considering Steinhauser's background in pop-punk bands and as a video game-loving computer programmer, this is exactly the band one would expect him to form. It's not the most accomplished outfit in the world, but Math the Band definitely gets an A for energy.
