Review: Matmos – The Marriage of True Minds

Matmos
The Marriage of True Minds

Thrill Jockey
Street: 02.19
Matmos = The Books + Squarepusher + Throbbing Gristle + Mouse on Mars

Somewhere between tone poem and demented bubblegum pop, Matmos resides in an aural world all their own. The Baltimore-via-San Francisco experimental duo has found a happy residence on Thrill Jockey’s roster of fearless outsiders. Filling out their madcap shuffle through genreless fields of musique concrète, The Marriage of True Minds tackles some ambitious terrain. Moving seamlessly between found sound art, glitched-out ambience, neo-classical clang, squiggly synthesizer solos and doom metal, The Marriage of True Minds can be wholly and ferociously engrossing during projects that take little mental concentration, like cleaning the house, but is overbearing and downright irritating during tasks that take more concentration, like checking your e-mail. Matmos is a group that demands your time and concentration––and really nice headphones. –Ryan Hall