Review: Mad E.P. – Eating Movies

When I am 6 was the first work of art by Matthew Peters of Mad E.P. and now he gives us the follow-up full-length, Eating Movies. Mad E.P. is completely uninhibited to experiment with hip-hop, piano keys, answering machine messages, flutes, cellos, street sounds, fist fights—you name it. “S-Cents” is a wicked opening with hard bass and rapping by Mad/EQ (Peters’ name for his vocal stylings). Punching, slapping and obscenities morph into a nice rhythm on “Dweller,” where violent sounds ensue and a sampled woman’s voice asks, “Can they do this live on air?” “Live Till I Rot” mixes it up with Mad/EQ vs. Jason Forrest—which is loosely remixed from “What You Truly Need,” as the liner notes say. The beats on this track remind me so much of those in Skinny Puppy’s “Dig It,” but mixed into hip-hop. Next on “Pmoonv2,” some sampled “ooh la, las” make me wonder if someone dug out an old Deee-Lite CD. It’s perfect, charming and nostalgic. Another favorite is “Scab Removal Technique”—the imagery stirred from thetitle is interesting and the music translates well into scab-picking. Perfectly timed coughing samples keep on bringing me back to this. Who knew coughing could sound so lovely? The 12 tracks on the first album for this New Yorker live up to the hype and above and beyond it and is the best organization of random sounds and instruments anyone could have dreamt up.

 This review originally appeared in Modus Operandi, May 2005, Issue 197.