CD. Pitchblende Quartet was a Washington D.C.-based math rock band whose only fault was that its sound while not really derivative of any one artist wasn t terribly distinctive. On the surface Gygax is just another solidly constructed but rather ordinary-sounding math rock record: it has Slint s chiming clean-toned guitar harmonics; Rodan s chunky dissonant chords; and barked tag-team vocals that sound a bit like the Volcano Suns. But as a sort of primer on all the things math rock can be it s just about unbeatable. Pitchblende demonstrates mastery of eerie tense space rock-like buildups ( Squeezin s From the Mole Jug ) ultra-complex rhythms ( Mercator Projection ) and pounding post-hardcore breaks ( Sideling Hill ). Best of all the group throws in enough head-turning half-hooks to keep the album from feeling like an exercise. Gygax is one of the most consistently enjoyable math rock records of the mid- 90s. ~ Charlie Wilmoth Rovi