The opening song on the second album from Minnesota’s Bubblemath is titled “Routine Maintenance,” but there is nothing routine about the cleverly colorful and proudly eclectic Edit Peptide. This progressive-rock-slash-avant-pop-slash-art-math band last released a record, Such Fine Particles of the Universe, in 2002—back when success for new artists was measured by their number of MySpace followers. For reasons too complex to recount here, Bubblemath took 15 years to make a second album. And, lo and behold, it was worth the wait. Drawing comparisons to Umphrey’s McGee, Haken, A.C.T. and The Mars Volta, the band juggles charming wordplay, offbeat time signatures and chaotic instrumentation with playful vocals sung by all five band members. The album’s sheer exuberance might exhaust you during the first couple spins; after a few more, though, Edit Peptide’s penetrating quirkiness will wiggle its way into your soul.
