“Throwin’ Shapes” by Minus the Bear
From the 2007 album Planet of Ice

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been 10 days since I last posted here. Sadly it’s not that I’ve lost interest (though I guess that actually would be more sad), it’s just that I’ve been too busy. It’s an odd fortnight, but I’m 3/4 of the way through it, and life will return to normalcy (or its usual approximation thereof) on September 1.

Anyway… for now, here’s the official music video of a single from a sort of prog-related (math rock, to be specific, though maybe this is more “math pop”) band I really got into about a year ago but haven’t listened to much lately, until I metaphorically dusted off Planet of Ice today. (How do you dust off an MP3?)

Some might argue they’re not prog, but I disagree… it’s not just the prominent Mellotron, though that certainly doesn’t hurt; it’s the angular, interlocking guitar lines and strange yet strangely enjoyable rhythmic complexity. Maybe it’s not that complex, but it’s pretty complex for something you might actually hear on commercial radio.

Planet of Ice is a great album. I actually learned about it from a superlative review it received from the Onion A.V. Club, and bought it immediately on iTunes. The album starts off strong but there’s an intriguingly mysterious, subdued suite of tracks in the second half. It’s not really a concept album, and not even really a formal suite, but the songs flow together in an organic, effortless way.