In a tiny venue called the Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines, in front of a sold-out crowd of only about 300, Mutemath played and performed an ambitious 18-song set that lasted over 2 hours.
The tour, dubbed the “Odd Soul Introduction Tour,” has been visiting smaller cities and small venues to introduce the band’s new album, “Odd Soul.”
The band entered the venue from behind the crowd, playing different drums and marching to the stage, where they immediately transitioned into the start of their first song.
Mutemath is made of Paul Meany, who leads the band on vocals and keys, Darren King, who hits the drums, Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas, who focuses on bass, and newcomer Todd Gummerman, who takes guitar duty on the tour.
With ridiculous speed, precision and showmanship, the guys powered through the set without missing a beat.
After the show, the band members all took time to shake hands with audience members. After cleaning up, they came out of the tour bus to talk with any fans still around.
“We wanted to give back to the small cities and venues that got us started out,” Meany said. “We wanted them to be the first to hear this new music.”
The music really is new—the band has altered its usual sound for this album. Mutemath, known for their fast-paced, high-energy alternative rock with catchy guitar riffs, electronic manipulation, absolutely insane drumming and introspective lyrics, has added old school spin on their new album.
“I’ll describe the new sound in 2 words– odd soul. Classic New Orleans blues and soul music influenced us in a big way for this album,” Meany said.
“We’ve had some bad experiences with producers, managers and business-types when we’ve recorded,” he continued. “So for this record, we locked ourselves in my basement in New Orleans and did exactly what we wanted to do without anyone getting in the way.”
The album, “Odd Soul,” was released on Oct. 4 on iTunes, Amazon and in stores everywhere in the U.S.
