Legs Like Tree Trunks’ EP short but dense

Legs Like Tree Trunks’ premiere album is like the beachy lovechild of indie and math rock. Legs Like Tree Trunks EP

Legs Like Tree Trunks

Self-Released

Rocks Like: Don Caballero, Vampire Weekend

Grade: B

Legs Like Tree Trunks’ premiere album is like the beachy lovechild of indie and math rock.

The quartet’s members — Matt Holden, Dave Shepherd, Tyler Donaldson and Dave Cerminara — are all Pitt students.

Their eponymous debut album begins with the incongrous “Pushover.” The instrumental features bouncy, quick guitar lines and a charging math-rock style, yet singer Holden’s vocals feel pained, tinged with a wounded whine. The track hits you in the gut in a way that holds your attention.

The following song, “Annabel,” meanwhile, has a happier mood. With a nice, smooth, calculated sound akin to Don Caballero’s and Band of Horses’ and with more upbeat vocals, it lacks the defeated sound that permeates “Pushover.”

Songs like “Dick Whitman” move away from math rock and into more of a slow indie vibe. Sometimes this pace can feel a little plodding, but the drowsy guitars and coarse vocals keep the listener hooked. Holden’s voice varies, from the painful moan to a charming purr; it mixes the low, hollow sound of John Mayer with the pain and disenchantment of Ian Curtis to create a peculiar blend.

The most impressive thing about this album its creators’ attention to detail: The smallest aspects, such as the chiming percussion in “Winter,” add that extra “oomph” to the tone and mood of the songs. Many bands forget that the little details are like extra spices that move songs from good to great, but Legs Like Tree Trunks has kept this in mind. The guitar lines are impossibly intricate, forming an auditory spiderweb of the minutest detail. The complexities make the music feel fuller without making it too crammed.

With just six tracks, the EP is unfortunately short, clocking in at just over 22 minutes. But the members of Legs Like Tree Trunks manage to squeeze sweet math rock goodness into every note.