Ryan ChartrandFew artists, if any, match the conceptual intensity, experimental mentality and pop sensibility of Matmos. Its aesthetic is advanced, one that transcends comparisons but remains accessible and enjoyably detached from its conceptual origins. Matmos consists of Drew Daniels and M.C. Schmidt, who are originally from Berkeley and now reside in Baltimore, where Daniels is a professor of literature at Johns Hopkins University.
The duo’s past works have been concept-restrictive albums made from sampling found sounds from a single source or idea. In “A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure,” the artists, clothed in surgical scrubs, took field recordings during plastic surgery operations. All sounds on the album are made up of these samples, which are cut, time-stretched, pitch-shifted and shuffled to make complex and rhythmic pop songs. Arguably their magnum opus was 2006’s “The Rose has Teeth in the Mouth of the Beast.” Conceived as ten “audio portraits,” the songs are dedicated to gay and lesbian individuals. “Tract for Valerie Solanas,” which is about the radical feminist who wrote the “S.C.U.M. Manifesto,” was recorded using a preserved cow uterus and vagina blown up with a reverse vacuum to be played like a bagpipe.
Matmos’ latest project, “Supreme Balloon,” is a departure from past albums in that no microphones were used. Made up entirely of old and new synthesizers, MAX patches, and obscure effects pedals and drum machines, the premise for the album appears to be less restrictive than its other albums. Despite the lack of recorded object sampling, all the tracks stay true to Matmos’ sound without coming across as stagnant.
The second track, “Polychords,” starts out as a typical electropop song, but as soon as you think you got it, the instruments begin to take on unfamiliar shapes. Below the somewhat straightforward rhythm bubbles a menacing pool of sound, which occasionally overflows into the foreground of the piece.
The instruments in “Exciter Lamp” take on percussive qualities reminiscent of early BBC Radiophonic experiments. Matmos’ finesse and athleticism make distinguishing the origins of each distinct sound difficult as pitch morphs into timbre and back again fluidly and effortlessly. “Exciter Lamp” serves as an initial climax to record but is nowhere near the end.
The title track is the endurance track, but could not be any more pleasurable. At 24 minutes, this psych-prog marathon gracefully balances out the sporadic and squelchy composition of the albums’ first half. In this track, the colorful synthesizers finally get a chance to breathe and show off their full majesty. Finally the crescendo heightens and the album finishes off with a down-tempo, cool-down track.
“Supreme Balloon” may be conceptually less dense than Matmos’ previous works in that it lacks a strong contextual narrative, but in no way is this detrimental. In fact, “Supreme Balloon” and the duo’s earlier albums lay in perfect symmetry.
Matmos treats the synthesizers just as they would any object. The instruments are never used as an end themselves; Matmos uses synth recordings as a starting point before deconstructing and rebuilding. If anything, “Supreme Balloon” is more conceptually restrictive in that no microphones were used, a real challenge for a music group so comfortable in its medium.
Supreme Balloon comes out May 6 on Matador Records.
Paul Cambon is an architecture junior and music director for KCPR, San Luis Obispo, 91.3 FM. He’s also completely full of it.