Consider is everything math rock can be. All the songs are fabulously well-constructed, the guitar work is generally solid, and the band messes around with all sorts of strange meters and tempos to make a dazzling array of sound. However, Charles the Osprey falls into the same rut as many other math rock bands with taking the same 12-note pattern and repeating it for inordinately long time periods, with opening track “Scimitar Children and Their Rugs” feeling like a long, repetitive loop. Generally, though, Consider is a respectable album that serves as a fine example of math rock without a real standout track, but with no real downers either.

(Friction Records, PO Box 6605, Grand Rapids, MI 49516)