by Stewart MasonGiddily swiping ideas from several decades' worth of alternative rock, New Orleans' electro-rock quartet Mute Math at times recalls New Order's synth-dance epics, the shambling shuffle of the Stone Roses and the rest of the Madchester scene, the spiky chilliness of prime Radiohead, Air's serene ambient pop, and somewhat incongruously, the booming vocals of mainstream alt-rockers of the post-Eddie Vedder era. Singer and keyboardist Paul Meany, formerly of the Christian rock group Earthsuit, was living and working in New Orleans when in 2001 he began a long-distance musical correspondence with drummer and programmer Darren King, who was based in Springfield, MO. Sending CD-Rs back and forth up the Mississippi River, Meany and King wrote enough songs together to convince King to relocate to New Orleans and start a proper band. Adding guitarist Greg Hill and bassist Roy Mitchell-Cardenas, the new band completed the Meany-King comp...