There is something about the Japanese that makes them push the boundaries in everything they undertake. From their cars to their videogames and now their music, Japan is quickly becoming the center of innovation for a large variety of sectors. Bands like Mono and World's End Girlfriend pushed the envelope of their respective styles of music while at the same time creating nearly flawless works of art. Lite is no exception to the rule and with Filmlets they seem to have crafted one of the most technical yet enjoyable instrumental math-rock albums in recent memory.

I've never been a huge fan of the technical and mathy side of instrumental music so while I could recognize the talent of bands like Don Caballero and Dakota, I never really could sit down and enjoy their sound. With Lite, I was unfamiliar with their music coming in to my first listen and the opening track "I Walk" with its slow ambient buildup deftly revealed nothing about the album that was about to grace my ears. As the first real track started, despite kicking right into a multi-tempo, start-stop math fest, my preconceived notions had only a split second to register before they were washed away in the melody and fantastic song-writing this band brings to the table.

My one problem with a band like Don Caballero is that while the talent is undeniably present, there just isn't enough in the way of a coherent song to keep my attention, and this is where Lite shines. "Contemporary Disease" is a nonstop barrage of riffs and fantastic bass lines but not to the detriment of the song. For the most part there is a nice recurring melody that keeps you grounded while the guitar and bass whirl around your head.

The instrumentation is what you would expect in a mathy instrumental album like this; namely fantastic. Of course, one cannot write a review of a band like Lite without at least giving a mention to the rhythm section and Akinori Yamamoto can drum with the best of them. Yet, unlike Don Caballero (I don't mean to make so many distinctions as I recognize how great Don Cab is), Yamamoto's drums take on a nice organic feel to them and don't seem to vie for the forefront position leaving the guitar and bass to duel nicely. Filmlets is truly a remarkable album if only for the fact that someone who is not a fan of instrumental math-rock can enjoy it as much as I did. I feel totally confident in recommending this album to fans of this style of music as well as non-fans, and can see this young band making a large impact in years to come.

-Dan Wotherspoon