A restless, conceptual cut-and-paste experimentalism drives the electronica outfit Matmos, and nowhere in the group's discography is this more apparent than on 2006's THE ROSE HAS TEETH IN THE MOUTH OF A BEAST. A sprawling sonic collage that celebrates well-known gay and lesbian figures (Larry Levan, Valerie Solanas, and William Burroughs, among them), ROSE is a fractured, elliptical journey that explores history and sexual identity while falling somewhere between IDM and avant-garde performance art. Guest appearances from Maja Ratkje, Bjork, and Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons) add heft to this already complex and alluring effort.
Professional Reviews
Q (p.117) - "3 stars out of 5 -- "Not unlike a digital version of The Residents, their cut-ups take in found sounds, random electronics and New York house beats..."
Alternative Press (p.208) - "THE ROSE abounds with bizarre stylistic amalgams that shouldn't work, but cast riveting spells....Still unique after all these years."
The Wire (p.52) - "[With] elegant thrashing and neatly sequenced clicking....This is a remarkably rich and complex achievement."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.103) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Snails crawling across Theremins; appearances from Bjork and Antony: the sixth album from experimental duo Matmos is certainly headline-friendly....A record sensational only in the best ways."
