A “convention”, in a nutshell, can be defined as a custom that is generally accepted as endemic to a larger entity. For instance, the motif of a nearly-infinite sea of lighters held aloft in a melodramatic salute to a band’s obligatory power-ballad, is a convention of rock music. The Glitch Mob are not a rock band. And similarly, if one were to suggest that the trio were manifesting traditional rock-music conventions, the Mob would probably get annoyed–not so much because of the inaccurate gauging of genre but more because the Glitch Mob have made copious attempts to shun convention within their music. However, while the squad of found-audiophiles is galaxies away from prog-rock, Glitch Mob’s collective debut, Drink the Sea, has several tracks (or anthems) which could possibly unleash some otherworldly spirit to swim through the crowd and spark a tempest of ascending Bics. The most obvious example of this dynamic is the epic “Bad Wings” which, while constructed from sounds that are supposedly so accidental that they can’t be aesthetically-pleasing, is comprised of gliding synths that are so relatable it’s nearly cinematic. The jumpy heartbeat on “We Swarm” also reflects something that’s inexplicably unifying.  “Fistful of Silence” lays out a growling ambience that butts heads with tightly fierce drums. Meanwhile, Glitch Mob’s experimentation dips into softer territory on the trip-hop-esque “Between Two Points” that features shoegazing vocals from Swan. Drink the Sea fully defines itself with “Drive It Like You Stole It”, where their inadvertent-centric collection of bleeps, samples and beats display a dizzying onslaught of enjoyable aimlessness and embodies the group adage that the orthodox is to be avoided at all times.

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