Matmos

The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast

[5/5] Matmos–a.k.a. San Francisco sound magicians Drew Daniel and M.C. Schmidt–are a unique musical entity whose output and techniques inspire emulation, but whose sonic inventiveness and conceptual rigor remain unmatched. Björk recognized this and asked Matmos not only to help produce her albums Vespertine and Medúlla, but to back her on two recent tours; but this brush with mainstream exposure hasn’t weakened Matmos’ experimental tendencies. On the contrary, it’s given them the luxury of probing even deeper into esoteric sound worlds. Matmos’ sixth album, The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast, comprises 10 “sound portraits” of various thinkers and creative types the group respect, including Joe Meek and the Germs’ Darby Crash. Each track reflects something of the subject’s personality or work while using objects pertinent to them (e.g., semen, snails, cow guts) to compose sounds, which are then reconfigured into songs. Fascinating as it is, Matmos’ complex creative process would be for naught if it didn’t generate music you want to hear more than once. As expected, though, The Rose abounds with bizarre stylistic amalgams (“Arabic ragtime psychedelia” and “mutant disco,” for instance) that shouldn’t work, but cast riveting spells. Damn, Matmos–still unique after all these years.
(MATADOR) Dave Segal



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