North Texas' Own

This Week In Local Music Downloads: Bad Design.

Math rock is one of those really contentious genres. Some people are obsessed with the never-ending cerebral exercise that comes with trying to comprehend the often discordant onslaught of hammer-on/pull-off guitar playing. For other folks, it can be an effective tool to use in a Guantanamo Bay-type interrogation.

So, yeah, it was a bit of a risk when Denton post-punk power trio Bad Design decided to add veteran math-rocker John Gillespie of Dear Human into the fold.

Fortunately, it's a move that has paid off well, adding another dimension to the group's sound without fucking up their dynamic or totally killing off too much of the late-'80s post-punk leanings that fans of the band had come to expect. It works rather nicely, giving the band a sound that's just complex enough to be consistently engaging, all the while avoiding the pitfalls of having a style so complicated that it either takes a musician to fully-comprehend or that is so abrasive it can't be taken in more than two-song doses.

All of this is to say that, earlier this month, Bad Design released a new self-titled album via Denton-based label Gutterth Records. When the album is purchased on BandCamp, it comes out to roughly 36 cents per track.

OK, so it turns out math isn't totally useless.

Download the song “Stained Glass” for free by clicking this link.