“I’m like one of those dogs where if you don’t take me out for a run, I’ll just eat all your furniture.”

Welcome to the headspace of Darren King – Mutemath sticks man and Jack Russell terrier in a previous life.

King’s enthusiasm is hypnotic and his fondness for a tangent unquestionable. He treats subjects like a dog treats lampposts; a quick sniff, the occasional deposit and a collar-stretching bolt to the next.

“You can’t kiss your muscles and name that after yourself,” protests the 30-year-old, referring to losing Super Bowl quarterback Colin Kaepernick. “He kisses his muscles and calls it ‘Kaepernicking’ likes he’s the first guy who invented that.”

“That’s a WWF move – don’t try to trademark that.”

King is the embodiment of the band’s last LP, Odd Soul. While not on tour, he takes it upon himself to go jogging at night to get the same release he would from pumping out a show.

You can imagine his poor wife sitting in their Texan home with arms crossed and the bins overflowing from months of “its ok honey, I’ll do it later.”

Five more minutes of chewing on the obtuse – New Orleans traffic, Muhammad Ali – passes before King finally sits still to chat about his craft and humility within a band; “you can’t be all like Sting or whatever,” he begins.

“You gotta be more like the Four Tops. They stuck together for 40 years because they mutually respected and appreciated each other. If you’re (a solo artist) like Prince, you can be as cocky as you want.” “At the same time I feel really inclined to make music that is heightened, that’s so intense it makes you want to put on all your rugby gear.”

He pauses before chuckling; “this is my favourite interview. I’m just talking about exactly what I want to talk about.”

A chat with King four years ago might not have seen him so spirited – or optimistic.

The production of their sophomore in 2009 left Mutemath wheezing at the knees. Two rewrites, the enlistment of an outside producer and a brooding identity crisis had King floating the notion of disbanding the group and leaving their discography at a solitary LP.

The quartet was falling down the rabbit hole with arms outstretched but not a single dangling vine to save them from the inevitable.

Guitarist Greg Hill was first to hit the ground. Prior to his departure, the band collected their thoughts, hiked to Mississippi with Hives producer Dennis Herring and somehow emerged with Armistice, a diamond of a follow-up considering the pressure.

“Sometimes I wish we were better at having a clearer sense of identity,” King laments, inferring that surviving those tortuous recording sessions didn’t crystalise their collective direction.

Keep in mind this is a band that’s flicked their hair and flirted between indie alternative, Christian contemporary roots, and tours with Matchbox Twenty.

“When we’re at the beginning of each record, I just wish that we could forget entirely. I wish we could not be burdened by caring about whether anything we do fits by what we have done previously.”

“I think it’s all internal. I’m not gonna blame anyone else for that. I don’t think it’s anybody else’s fault that we get that way,” the fast-talking drummer believes.

King’s hopes for retrograde amnesia neglects a decade-long kinship that has swathed the band and shielded it from obliteration.

In many ways, he and lead singer Paul Meany are Mutemath. They write nearly every song together. They also formed the band out of Earthsuit – the duo’s previous musical carnation.

Heck, if King’s drumming headphones weren’t held in place by duct-tape, Meany would probably be there to secure them with his right-hand instead.

“I hear Paul in Mutemath and I hear Paul in Earthsuit and there’s always that connection,” King says with a touch of ‘remember when’ creeping into his tone.“I have a lot of friends who don’t even know about Earthsuit. I’m curious to play it and even see if they realise straight away that it’s Paul.”

“Those were the days before I used to tape the headphones onto my head. I was actually wearing this wrestling helmet. It would get so hot I would literally throw up,” he confesses. “Playing Australia made us feel like we were a brand new band – that’s what was so cool about it for us. You made us feel young again.”

Such enthusiasm – as well as the zip-lock core of Meany/King – bodes well for Mutemath’s impending fourth LP. Early signs indicate a detour from the ‘70s thump of 2011 release Odd Soul and riff-driven rockers like ‘Prytania’ and ‘Blood Pressure’.

“I’m trying to play in a way that’s really pretty,” King explains. “I just bought a banjo and my favourite thing to do right now is try and write songs on it.”

“At the same time I feel really inclined to make music that is heightened, that’s so intense it makes you want to put on all your rugby gear,” he adds.

Samples of what’s to come (pretty or otherwise) will be drip-fed throughout Mutemath’s upcoming Australian tour – their second in as many years. They’ll also be taking the North Korean route by using the tour as a testing ground for previously unreleased material.

Having witnessed the breathless rush of their stage form, local Mutemathians (or Muteamaticians, perhaps?) will be more than happy to slot into the role of guinea pig.

King also has his own reasons for putting up with 24 hours of airplane slop and chainsaw newborn drone; “playing Australia made us feel like we were a brand new band – that’s what was so cool about it for us. You made us feel young again.”

“Playing music gets better with time and it’s become even more enjoyable for us. We stopped taking ourselves so seriously when we realised we weren’t promised this for even another day more,” he concludes.

On paper it sounds like standard muso touring spiel, though King isn’t the type to indulge in porky pies.

Given his eccentricities, even if World War Three unravels and we encounter a Red Dawn type situation (or if the Koreans hit a big red button by mistake), King will still be on stage, bombs raining outside with one foot on a beaten kick pedal, a drum stick twirling in his right hand and half a set still to eat up.

Odd Soul is out now through Warner Music Australia. Mutemath begin their headline Australian tour  on March 19th with dates around the country, details below.

Mutemath 2013 Australian Tour

with support from Big Scary

Tuesday 19th March- Astor Theatre Perth
www.showticketing.com.au

Thursday 21st March- Fowlers Live- Adelaide
www.moshtix.com.au

Friday 22nd March- Billboard- Melbourne
www.ticketek.com.au

Saturday 23rd March- HI FI- Brisbane
www.thehifi.com.au

Sunday 24th March- HI-FI- Sydney
www.thehifi.com.au

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