Mars Accelerator

Seattle's arithmetic-rockers Mars Accelerator have long understood the intrinsic link between music and mathematics. Emerging amid the underground rock circuit in the mid-'90s, the group issued their first full-length, I Am the South Pole. Their distinctive approach centers on intelligent, guitar-led compositions built from interlocking melody and noise threads, irregular meters, and extensive effects processing. The ensemble swiftly earned notice for intricate, densely layered rock marked by frequent structural shifts. The follow-up LP, Frankfurt: Telephonics, arrived in 1998 and sustained the same challenging sonic barrage, keeping the band's following confined to niche circles. RX Remedy Records subsequently shuttered, while drummers KC Bonnem and bassist Victoria Sloan departed, which appeared to stall any immediate further output. By 2001 the lineup resurfaced on Northwest stages, unveiling fresh material that found vocalist/guitarist Bobby Nath, the ever-affable frontman, alongside his steadfast collaborator Mark LeBlanc on guitar once more probing elaborate textural experiments inside the rock idiom.