New Math
They Walk Among You
Propeller Sound Recordings
Just in time for Spooky Season, They Walk Among You is reissued with bonus tracks. The record is by a band from Rochester, New York, called New Math, and the songs are fixated with the occult, horror movies, and psychedelic sounds. They Walk Among You was originally released as a 6-song EP in 1981. The reissue includes two additional studio tracks and three live recordings from Rochester’s legendary venue, Scorgies.
The B-movie aesthetic of New Math has a lot in common with the Misfits, the Cramps, and especially Roky Erickson. The title track is a riff on Invasion of the Body Snatchers. “Garden of Delights” was inspired by the writings of William S. Burroughs and the music of the Yardbirds. If you’re going to mess around with the occult, you’ve got to pay tribute to Aleister Crowley. New Math does so, on the psychedelic rocker “Branded.” “American Survival” hits a post-apocalyptic theme that falls a little to close to home if you live in the wake of hurricanes Milton or Helene.
Bonus material includes the lost track “Two Tongues” and “Second Language” (Live at Scorgies), a trippy cover of the Rolling Stones’ “We Love You.” “Two Tongues” is another Burroughs inspired track sharing his obsession with sex and death. Of the live tracks, my favorite is “Hit Her Wid de Axe.” The song has a strong Velvet Underground feel in the drumming and chaotic instrumentation. The song was written by Willie Alexander, who was a member of the post-Lou Reed incarnation of the Velvets.
They Walk Among You has a low-fi sound befitting an independent release from 1981. The remastered reissue is clean yet no frills. The basic production goes well with the ghoulish subject matter and psychedelic sounds of New Math.
