MATHLETE Lincolnwood Tech (Blackbean & Placenta) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Mathlete's indie jangle lo-fi behavior with analogue synths, and earnest / sensitive boy vocal whine recalls the Land Of The Loops and a lot of the happy-go-lucky aesthetics of Darla.

MATINEES, THE All These Days (self-released) lp 15.98
The Bay Area dreamy pop duo of Jaime Borschuk and P.F. Dumanis are back with their third full length. While the first two were delivered to our ears on cd, this one comes spinning on wonderful limited edition vinyl. Only 250 were pressed, so act fast! All These Days starts rolling in gentle fashion with "Fleeting", a lullaby tempo'd number that brings to mind the drowsy blanketing embrace of Yo La Tengo or Low. Wistful verging on downright melancholic. Then they get the toe tappin' and guitar strummin' on the considerably more upbeat second tune "Can i Love You Yet?" It's definitely more like what we recall from their previous releases. However, the bright burst of springy sunshine swiftly give way to the autumnal feel of the opening track, as the pair brings things back down again for the next tune. They stick to this slower, somber pace for the rest of the nine songs. While we certainly dig The Matinees' peppier side, on this album they prove to be just as engaging treading the more shadowier paths of pop.

MATINEES, THE Make The Leap (Snowstorm Music) cd 9.98
The indie pop garden continues to blossom in the Bay Area! The Matinees' sophomore full length catches a ride on the fleeting warm sunbeams that visit SF around this time of year. Bask with us in some really good girl/boy sung tunes. On songs such as "Mission Beach" they're very much in the vein of Quasi, and take a more reeling whimsical spin more akin to Fiery Furnaces on "Fair Weather Friend". As for their drowsy pop rendition of David Bowie's "Modern Love"... well, we're not quite sure how we feel about that, but the rest of the album sure sounds sweet. Much more polished and composed than 2007's Sleepy Seeds. The album was recorded and co-produced by Greg Ashley, and features guests from local pals Love Is Chemical, Scrabbel, Invisible Cities, and Agent Ribbons.
MPEG Stream: "Mission Beach"
MPEG Stream: "Fair Weather Friend"

MATINEES, THE Sleepy Seeds (self-released) cd 9.98
If The Matinees might look and sound a bit familiar to you, it might be because you're already familiar with the individual members' other musical endeavors -- local bands Blue Period, Plan To Pink and The Bright Grey Wing. The SF duo make old style jangly indie pop, and by 'old style' we mean the girl/boy sung college radio delights of the early '90s. If you dig Unrest and the many other Mark Robinson fronted pop combos, you'll probably welcome The Matinees's debut album which made us think they were not so distant cousins of Mr. Robinson. Nice and sweet.

MATMOS A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure (Matador) cd 15.98
The Matmos back catalogue of quirky electronica features an odd litany of sound sources which sets them apart from their contemporaries trapped within the bunker mentality of laptop trickery. Whoopie cushions contextualized as surface noise, the neural synapse of a crayfish turned into a bassline, latex popped into a post-Autechre rhythmic algorithm, theremins created from toy walkie talkies. While their previous records have been wacky electronic collages which almost indiscriminately blended sources from everywhere, "A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure" is single minded in its conceptual dedication to medicine. Directed in most part from Matmos' Drew Daniel with his collaborator M.C. Schmidt quick to offer a witty offhand remark, their fourth album is a perverse album of clunky house numbers that deftly avoids sounding terribly macabre, given their subject matter.
The album begins with the light shuffling house groove of "Lipostudio (And So On...)" which includes an odd textural duet between human fat gurgling through a tiny vacuum and a bleating clarinet supplied by Stephen Thrower (currently of Cylobe, formerly of Coil). "Spondee" works another house groove around the rhythmic recitation of spondees -- duo-syllabic words / phrases in which neither syllable is particularly stressed -- by an audiologist testing deaf children. By the end of the album, Matmos needed to address the reality of death and did so with "Momento Mori" - a 23Skidoo-ish death-funk groove built out of sounds generated from a human skull.
This is easily Matmos' most successful record to date, and will make fans of Coil's "Love's Secret Domain" or Doctor Rockit's "D Is For Doctor" very happy!
RealAudio clip: "Lipostudio (And So On...)"
RealAudio clip: "Momento Mori"
RealAudio clip: "Spondee"

MATMOS A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure (Matador) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The Matmos back catalogue of quirky electronica features an odd litany of sound sources which sets them apart from their contemporaries trapped within the bunker mentality of laptop trickery. Whoopie cushions contextualized as surface noise, the neural synapse of a crayfish turned into a bassline, latex popped into a post-Autechre rhythmic algorithm, theremins created from toy walkie talkies. While their previous records have been wacky electronic collages which almost indiscriminately blended sources from everywhere, "A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure" is single minded in its conceptual dedication to medicine. Directed in most part from Matmos' Drew Daniel with his collaborator M.C. Schmidt quick to offer a witty offhand remark, their fourth album is a perverse album of clunky house numbers that deftly avoids sounding terribly macabre, given their subject matter.
The album begins with the light shuffling house groove of "Lipostudio (And So On...)" which includes an odd textural duet between human fat gurgling through a tiny vacuum and a bleating clarinet supplied by Stephen Thrower (currently of Cylobe, formerly of Coil). "Spondee" works another house groove around the rhythmic recitation of spondees -- duo-syllabic words / phrases in which neither syllable is particularly stressed -- by an audiologist testing deaf children. By the end of the album, Matmos needed to address the reality of death and did so with "Momento Mori" - a 23Skidoo-ish death-funk groove built out of sounds generated from a human skull.
This is easily Matmos' most successful record to date, and will make fans of Coil's "Love's Secret Domain" or Doctor Rockit's "D Is For Doctor" very happy!

MATMOS California Rhinoplasty (Matador) cd ep 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A teaser ep from Matmos' upcoming record "A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure" -- the medical album for San Francisco's beloved electronica duo, who of course keeps this rather sterile and grim theme lighthearted and wacky. In keeping true to the medical theme, Matmos procured remixes from Dr. Rockit and Surgeon of the title track... and did a cover of Coil's "Disco Hospital" (which features Stephen Thrower - formerly of Coil). Who said drilling through a person's nose or suctioning out all of the fat from some rich lady's ass couldn't be fun? Or sound great?!
RealAudio clip: "California Rhinoplasty"
RealAudio clip: "Disco Hospital"

MATMOS California Rhinoplasty (Matador) 12" 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A teaser ep from Matmos' upcoming record "A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure" -- the medical album for San Francisco's beloved electronica duo, who of course keeps this rather sterile and grim theme lighthearted and wacky. In keeping true to the medical theme, Matmos procured remixes from Dr. Rockit and Surgeon of the title track... and did a cover of Coil's "Disco Hospital" (which features Stephen Thrower - formerly of Coil). Who said drilling through a person's nose or suctioning out all of the fat from some rich lady's ass couldn't be fun? Or sound great?!

MATMOS For Alan Turing (Vague Terrain) 3"cd 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This limited pressing 3" cd from local sound alchemists Matmos continues in the same conceptual vein as their last major release, The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of The Beast, where each track was dedicated to a musical, philosophical or literary figure (Boyd McDonald, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Larry Levan, etc.). The material for this cd was originally commissioned by members of The Mathematical Sciences Research Institute and Matmos took the opportunity to create three pieces for one of their scientific heroes, Alan Turing. Who is Alan Turing, you ask? Well, Alan Turing was an English mathematician, logician, and cryptographer who became a pioeering figure in modern computing, and who contributed much to the debate about artificial intelligence and whether machines could ever develop consciousness and independently think (ever hear of the Turing Test?). But what makes Alan Turing an even more interesting and ultimately tragic figure for Matmos is the charges that were brought against him in the early fifties of "acts of gross indecency" for admitting to a sexual relationship with another man. After being put on probation and ordered to undergo hormone therapy, Turing ate an apple laced with cyanide. His death was ruled a suicide. Taking cues from Turing's work with cryptographic devices (otherwise known as the Enigma Machine) and his personal effects including postcards he sent to his lover before his suicide entitled Messages From The Unseen World, Matmos gained access to an actual Enigma machine and were able to use its sound for this recording. Enlisting help from David Tibet of Current 93, and Clodagh Simonds of Fovea Hex, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Matthew Curry and Mark Lightcap, Matmos have created three beautiful and touching pieces paying tribute this important and tragic figure. Limited to 1000 copies, and highly recommended!!!
MPEG Stream: "Enigma Machine For Alan Turing"
MPEG Stream: "Messages From The Unseen World"

MATMOS Quasi-Objects (Matador) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Simply filing this excellent album under "experimental electronica" is to give it short shrift. San Francisco boyfriends Drew Daniel and M.C. Schmidt (whose faces are morphed into one on the back cover) have crafted a record each of whose songs is a concept brought to fruit and to full percussive grooviness. One piece is composed entirely of manipulated samples of human voices, anothers sole instrument is a stretched wet latex shirt, and yet anothers sound source is the "silent recordings" which came about as two walkie talkies were held over a 4 channel tape recorder with nothing plugged into it, the resulting audible interference manipulated a la the theremin. Don't be put off by the weird instrumentation, this record heavily grooves like '80s electro, clanks like Balinese ketjak, and blips'n'bleeps like the best Mouse on Mars tracks. Highly, highly recommended!

MATMOS Rat Relocation Program (Locust) cd 14.98
Eek! Rats! You can always count on the mischevious Matmos (Drew and Martin, SF's darling duo of experimental electronica, who you probably know not only for their own weird, wonderful releases but also their work with Bjork) to make the most of the strangest sound-sources. In this case, a rat they (humanely) trapped in their Tenderloin apartment! Why? Well this is one of Locust's "Met Life" releases...that's not an insurance company but rather a "location sound series" for which sound artists were asked to both provide field recordings of their urban environment as well as "respond" musically to that environment. This 30 minute cd consists of two tracks. Track one is just the poor rat giving a solo performance, of squeaks and screams. If you have a cat this might interest them greatly. On the second track Matmos join in, turning the rat's cage into a nightclub for Intelligent Dance Music, with beats ranging from the purely abstract to the downright groovy. The rat's squeaks remain the same, coming in as if on cue in breaks in the music as orchestrated by Matmos. The rat's no house diva that's for sure, and we like the effect. Matmos' dance grooves are totally dark, and rat-appropriate while other parts of this (and the rat's original performance) echo some avant-garde 20th century classical with its use of space and silence. A successful 'collaboration' indeed. And don't worry, I don't think they actually subjected the rat to this mix. Furthermore, in the liner notes Matmos explain that "the following morning we took the rat to a wealthy suburban neighborhood and set it free."
MPEG Stream: "track 2"

MATMOS s/t (Matador) cd 14.98
This is one of our unanimous store favorites, a very accesible, murky electronic record inspired by electro and the sounds of hair, breathing and Polish trains. Recommended without reservation, this is some of the best of the bunch.
RealAudio clip: "It Seems"

MATMOS Supreme Balloon (Matador) cd 13.98
Matmos have that very rare and special talent of being able to turn endless creativity and playful spirit into something transcendental. While much of the press they get ends up being about their unique methods and approaches to gathering sounds (plastic surgery, semen, polish trains, rats, etc.) or the famous folks they have worked with (Bjork, Kronos Quartet, Terry Riley, etc.) the truth is that ultimately it's the strength of their varied albums and engaging live performances that have made them one of the best and most compelling music makers of the last decade.
Supreme Balloon finds Matmos stripped down in a sense as they put their contact mic's away and decided to make a record made solely with synthesizers and samplers, and the results are pretty damn stunning! Showing that they could give the DFA camp a tutorial if asked ("Polychords"), keeping their playful spirit on high with their Switched on Matmos take on "Les Folies Francaises" as well as reaching outer orbits of pure psychedelic bliss on the 24 minute title track. They use their wide range of synthesizers to create a kraut-like sensation with bursts of fluorescence and a sense of adventure and eye on the multicolor sky that is so damn hard to resist. Matmos manage to find the hidden smile in Klaus Schulze's stern visage, the relics of a Tangerine Dream with a half dose of ecstasy we always wished was out there somewhere. Once again they've proven that you can be smart without being stiff, playful without being dumb. Supreme Balloon will be a definite contender for record of the year!
(P.S., vinyl fans should note that the double-LP version of this record comes with three extra tracks including a great collaboration with Terry Riley titled "The Hashish Master"!)
MPEG Stream: "Polychords"
MPEG Stream: "Supreme Balloon"
MPEG Stream: "Rainbow Flag"

MATMOS Supreme Balloon (Matador) 2lp 26.00
Matmos have that very rare and special talent of being able to turn endless creativity and playful spirit into something transcendental. While much of the press they get ends up being about their unique methods and approaches to gathering sounds (plastic surgery, semen, polish trains, rats, etc.) or the famous folks they have worked with (Bjork, Kronos Quartet, Terry Riley, etc.) the truth is that ultimately it's the strength of their varied albums and engaging live performances that have made them one of the best and most compelling music makers of the last decade.
Supreme Balloon finds Matmos stripped down in a sense as they put their contact mic's away and decided to make a record made solely with synthesizers and samplers, and the results are pretty damn stunning! Showing that they could give the DFA camp a tutorial if asked ("Polychords"), keeping their playful spirit on high with their Switched on Matmos take on "Les Folies Francaises" as well as reaching outer orbits of pure psychedelic bliss on the 24 minute title track. They use their wide range of synthesizers to create a kraut-like sensation with bursts of fluorescence and a sense of adventure and eye on the multicolor sky that is so damn hard to resist. Matmos manage to find the hidden smile in Klaus Schulze's stern visage, the relics of a Tangerine Dream with a half dose of ecstasy we always wished was out there somewhere. Once again they've proven that you can be smart without being stiff, playful without being dumb. Supreme Balloon will be a definite contender for record of the year!
(P.S., vinyl fans should note that the double-LP version of this record comes with three extra tracks including a great collaboration with Terry Riley titled "The Hashish Master"!)
MPEG Stream: "Polychords"
MPEG Stream: "Supreme Balloon"
MPEG Stream: "Rainbow Flag"

MATMOS The Civil War (Matador) cd 14.98
If Drew Daniel got to indulge his big-booty-beach-party perversions on the Soft Pink Truth album, then Martin Schmidt, who is the other half of Matmos duo, should have the opportunity to elaborate his own musical virtues and vices. That said, it would be too easy to qualify "The Civil War" as the Martin record; but there are many more than a few similarities between this album and the previous outing "The West," Matmos' historically coded album which Matmos has publicly announced as being masterminded by Martin. Again, Matmos and their comrades in arms (J Lesser, Blevin Blechtum, Keith Fullerton Whitman, David Grubbs, Mark Lightcap, and others) wield some atypical instruments -- an emergency alarm system, blood, a rabbit pelt, conductive jelly, and an ultrasonic doppler flow detector (huh?); but what is most surprising about "The Civil War" is its dramatic break from the directions of contemporary electronica. Structurally, this album is a pastiche of jaunty Renaissance jigs, fife and drum marches, medieval madrigals for hurdy gurdy, and rustic folk. Yet, smeared across the surfaces of these archaic musics are digital pixels, microtonal glissandos, misplaced electronic beats, and intrusive glitches. This is an overtly clever take on appropriation, never allowing an exact mimesis of the older forms, rather Matmos position the old and the new in a context of dislocation. At their best, perhaps on "The Struggle Against Unreality Begins," Matmos reconstitutes the alchemy of Coil during their "Horse Rotovator" period, where the anarchronistic references collapse into a monstrous dirge with sly glances toward the carnivalesque.
Those Bjork fans who love her swansongs and wish to indulge in the genius of her technicians must be warned that "The Civil War" is a willfully difficult listen. But those adventurous listeners will certainly be delighted by the collision of state of the art electronics and the music of yesteryear.
MPEG Stream: "Regicide"
MPEG Stream: "Y.T.T.E"
MPEG Stream: "The Struggle Against Reality Begins"

MATMOS The Civil War (Matador) lp 11.98
If Drew Daniel got to indulge his big-booty-beach-party perversions on the Soft Pink Truth album, then Martin Schmidt, who is the other half of Matmos duo, should have the opportunity to elaborate his own musical virtues and vices. That said, it would be too easy to qualify "The Civil War" as the Martin record; but there are many more than a few similarities between this album and the previous outing "The West," Matmos' historically coded album which Matmos has publicly announced as being masterminded by Martin. Again, Matmos and their comrades in arms (J Lesser, Blevin Blechtum, Keith Fullerton Whitman, David Grubbs, Mark Lightcap, and others) wield some atypical instruments -- an emergency alarm system, blood, a rabbit pelt, conductive jelly, and an ultrasonic doppler flow detector (huh?); but what is most surprising about "The Civil War" is its dramatic break from the directions of contemporary electronica. Structurally, this album is a pastiche of jaunty Renaissance jigs, fife and drum marches, medieval madrigals for hurdy gurdy, and rustic folk. Yet, smeared across the surfaces of these archaic musics are digital pixels, microtonal glissandos, misplaced electronic beats, and intrusive glitches. This is an overtly clever take on appropriation, never allowing an exact mimesis of the older forms, rather Matmos position the old and the new in a context of dislocation. At their best, perhaps on "The Struggle Against Unreality Begins," Matmos reconstitutes the alchemy of Coil during their "Horse Rotovator" period, where the anarchronistic references collapse into a monstrous dirge with sly glances toward the carnivalesque.
Those Bjork fans who love her swansongs and wish to indulge in the genius of her technicians must be warned that "The Civil War" is a willfully difficult listen. But those adventurous listeners will certainly be delighted by the collision of state of the art electronics and the music of yesteryear.

MATMOS The Ganzfield EP (Thrill Jockey) cd ep 12.98

MATMOS The Ganzfield EP (Thrill Jockey) 12" 14.98

MATMOS The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast (Matador) cd 15.98
San Francisco's darling electronic conceptualists Matmos have crafted an ambitious collection of audio portraits for their 6th full album, allowing their baroque sampling tricknology to articulate the metaphors in mapping out the complexities of each of the portraits. The collection of audio portraits represents the inspiration pantheon for Matmos, ranging from the ivory tower of academia to far reaches of underground culture. Hence, there's analytical philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, the scabrous feminist Valarie Solanas, New York house legend Larry Levan, Germs' frontman Darby Crash, homoerotic photographer James Bidgood, eccentric producer Joe Meek, gay chronicler Boyd McDonald, countercultural godfather William S. Burroughs, and noir-thriller novelist Patricia Highsmith. Matmos' work has always been a cavalcade of electro-acoustic stunts directed within a studied and adventurous reading of contemporary electronica tinged with comedic overtones, ranging from black humour to slapstick antics. The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast is no different, romping through wah-wah splattered porno funk, mutant disco beats clipped with diva-house vocals, noirish concrete-collages, and tracks literally wrapped in semen stained sheets. As Matmos deconstructs and compresses the dense histories of each of their portrait subjects into the context of a six to ten minute electronica tracks, it's the details that Matmos amass that give each of their portraits such charm and pleasure. Very well done, indeed!
MPEG Stream: "Steam And Sequins For Larry Levan"
MPEG Stream: "Semen Song For James Bidgood"
MPEG Stream: "Solo Buttons For Joe Meek"

MATMOS The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast (Matador) 2lp 16.98
San Francisco's darling electronic conceptualists Matmos have crafted an ambitious collection of audio portraits for their 6th full album, allowing their baroque sampling tricknology to articulate the metaphors in mapping out the complexities of each of the portraits. The collection of audio portraits represents the inspiration pantheon for Matmos, ranging from the ivory tower of academia to far reaches of underground culture. Hence, there's analytical philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, the scabrous feminist Valarie Solanas, New York house legend Larry Levan, Germs' frontman Darby Crash, homoerotic photographer James Bidgood, eccentric producer Joe Meek, gay chronicler Boyd McDonald, countercultural godfather William S. Burroughs, and noir-thriller novelist Patricia Highsmith. Matmos' work has always been a cavalcade of electro-acoustic stunts directed within a studied and adventurous reading of contemporary electronica tinged with comedic overtones, ranging from black humour to slapstick antics. The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast is no different, romping through wah-wah splattered porno funk, mutant disco beats clipped with diva-house vocals, noirish concrete-collages, and tracks literally wrapped in semen stained sheets. As Matmos deconstructs and compresses the dense histories of each of their portrait subjects into the context of a six to ten minute electronica tracks, it's the details that Matmos amass that give each of their portraits such charm and pleasure. Very well done, indeed!
MPEG Stream: "Steam And Sequins For Larry Levan"
MPEG Stream: "Semen Song For James Bidgood"
MPEG Stream: "Solo Buttons For Joe Meek"

MATMOS The West (Deluxe) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The CD release of last year's fantastic vinyl-only album from San Francisco's Matmos comes with an extra track AND some new artwork (buy it for the cowboy photo of Jay Lesser on a horse!). Totally amazing organic electronica laced with playful electro beats, wildly manipulated field recordings, arid soundtracks, and guest appearances from David Pajo (Slint, Tortoise, Aerial M), Kris Force (Amber Asylum), and Jay Lesser (who has now officially joined Matmos).

MATMOS The West (Autofact / Vague Terrain) cd 14.98
At long last, possibly our favorite Matmos record ever is back in print! The West is by far the most sprawling and highway ready record in their illustrious back catalog. With all the well deserved attention they've received over the years for their innovative methods and countless collaborations one thing that's often overlooked is how well their records tend to predict and predate what's about to come floating up from the musical underground. Recorded and released a few years before the big new weird America/freak folk movement took off and before everyone was using laptops to create folktronica, Matmos made this amazing album that perfectly melds their leftfield electronic roots with spacious and trance inducing guitar to create the kind of record you would imagine might have been made if Henry Flynt and Jim O'Rourke were to collaborate or if Christian Fennesz got to twist knobs while John Fahey was playing in one of his most exploratory moments. With a long list of guests including J. Lesser and David Pajo (Slint, Papa M) on board for the record, Drew & Martin once again demonstrate how great they are at letting others into their world and being open to where the sounds will take them while still maintaining a distinct vision.
The West is for sure one of our favorite roadtrip records of all time. "Sun on 5 at 152" really does sound exactly how it feels when the sun is blasting through your dirty windshield and you can't really see what's ahead but you keep your foot on the pedal and just follow the road to wherever it may lead you. While no two Matmos records are alike The West probably finds its most kindred spirit in The Civil War, another Matmos record that proves there is much more to these great music makers then simply synths and samples. No matter what they create, soul seeps richly through their fractured sounds and in our opinion The West may be their most soulful, satisfying and resonating release EVER. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Sun on 5 at 152"
MPEG Stream: "Last Delicious Cigarette"
MPEG Stream: "Action at a Distance"

MATMOS / MOTION (Fat Cat) 12" 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The 11th split 12" from Fat Cat features San Francisco's electronica geniuses Matmos and hard disc editors Motion. Matmos starts off with "Freak 'n' You" full of Funkstorifique damage on some sappy R&B slow-jam with lots of time-stretching, cybernetic sampledelica, and fractured beat skitter. This is followed by a collaboration with David Pajo and part time Matmos member Jay Lesser for a collage of string plucks from laptop modified banjos and guitars to create almost Pierre Schaeffer-ish creakiness and theremin-like vibrato.
Motion's digital kaleidoscope of warbling cd skips resembles the painterly squiggles of Microstoria.

MATMOS WITH J LESSER Live (Vague Terrain) cd 11.98
This limited edition collection of live material from Matmos with J Lesser (and a couple of guests) exposes the improvisational ability of this San Francisco electronica duo (or trio if you count Lesser) who are mostly reknowned for their transmutation of arcane sound sources (surgical suction, crayfish nerves, acupuncture) into IDM / tech-house. Where their studio albums have been crafted in full cognizance of the play between techno's rhythmic propulsion and the textural eccentricity of some of their source material, Matmos' live performances always try to integrate the performative, risk-taking elements of improvisation alongside pre-programmed rhythms and sequences. Thus, Matmos' live shows can't ever be accused of being the non-performances of a dude and his laptop, or sounding like their records for that matter. With these 11 live excerpts, Matmos ramble through dense processed bloopings made with skipping cds, walkie talkies, acoustic guitar, vacuum cleaner tubes, and duck calls (the latter being the most obtuse sound source on this album) alongside plenty of electronic skitter, resulting in something more in line with Gastr Del Sol and Red Crayola than what one may expect from Matmos. A couple of tracks (ones not qualified as improvisations in the liner notes) do venture into the throbbing electronica found on "Quasi-Objects" and "A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure," including those aforementioned duck calls which I would really like to think is Matmos member M.C. Schmidt's answer to house divas. These tracks span the band's career with tracks dating back to 1997.
Matmos wanted to keep this a limited release, only selling these to a handful of shops across the globe. While not quite exclusive to Aquarius, this album isn't terribly likely to be showing up at many other shops! Act fast!
RealAudio clip: "Live 4"
RealAudio clip: "Live 6"
RealAudio clip: "Live 8"

MATRIX Various Films (Chain Reaction) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

MPEG Stream: "Blue Film #2"
MPEG Stream: "Milieux"
MPEG Stream: "Red Film #2"

MATSUNAGA, KOUHEI Upside Down (Mille Plateaux) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Deep pulsing bass drones with creepy slow metallic percussion, and lots of interesting noise-making, featuring voice and cello and appearences by noise-greats Masonna and Merzbow, being not so balls-out noisey, but contributing effectively to the album as a whole.

MATT POND PA Last Light (Polyvinyl) lp 16.98

MATTHEW SHIPP Piano Vortex (Thirsty Ear) cd 16.98

MATTHEWS, ERIC Foundation Sounds (Empyrean) cd 14.98

MPEG Stream: "Our House"
MPEG Stream: "Sorry"
MPEG Stream: "Gold"

MATTHEWS, ERIC Six Kinds Of Passion Looking For An Exit (451) cd 14.98

MATTHEWS, KAFFE Ann (Annette Works) cd 14.98
While the majority of the sound source of Kaffe Matthews' "Ann" album is the violin, her improvisational sampling prowess has subverted and treated the original source into constantly shifting digitally looped drones and abstract patterns. This is her first album in a series of releases alphabetically progressing through women's names.

MATTHEWS, KAFFE Bea (Annette Works) cd 14.98
The second album from Kaffe Matthews is a continuation of her realtime explorations of sampler manipulation within a particular live setting. With a (sometimes hidden) microphone capturing her Tony Conrad-esque violin drones incedental sounds, Matthews selects snippets of droning sound to be fed into her sampler for hypnotic, ever shifting abstractions of sound.

MATTHEWS, KAFFE cd dd (Annetteworks) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Kaffe Matthews is a UK electronic artist specializing in live sampling techniques in which she pulls a variety of sounds from her performance space and transforms them into a variety of loops to be collaged in real time. Her previous recordings had often featured her playing violin and specifically manipulating that sounds; but as can be heard here on her fifth album, Matthews' is moving beyond the violin towards more abstracted compositions and sound elements. Chilling grey drones nervously build from mysterious, extended atmopherics into ominous mechanical rhythms, sounding like the post-industrial work of Nocturnal Emissions or Hazard.

MATTHEWS, KAFFE Cecile (Annette Works) cd 14.98
"Cecile" - Kaffe Matthews' third album - is quite similar in execution to her riveting live performance which recently took place here at Aquarius. Her method is to manipulate and layer samples of incidental sounds gathered from a singular context (meaning that no samples were brought into the context, and none were added later). While her previous two records had primarily improvised around violin, "Cecile" uses a lot of scratchy surface noise of vinyl as the source material, ending up sounding similar to Philip Jeck's collages.

MATTHEWS, KAFFE + HAYLEY NEWMAN Pointy Stunt (Audioview/Lowlands) cd 15.98
This Hayley Newman person performs all sorts of weird actions, then electronic sound manipulator Kaffe Matthews processes the resultant audio. 67 minutes, all recorded live. Weird actions? Well, try wearing a velcro bodysuit with microphones sewn in, or dancing on a miked-up wooden box wearing stilleto shoes outfitted with motors in the heels...hmm. Anyway, knowing that Kaffe can make even the everyday sounds here at Aquarius Records quite interesting with her processing (as she demonstrated not long ago at an instore performance) you might expect that the material on "Pointy Stunt" couldn't fail. Unexpected sounds abound, with everything from some pleasing drone/hum on the "Shoes" track to cut up music and animal noises that result from Newman weighing different objects on digital scales that Matthews set up to trigger odd samples.

MATTOID, THE eternifinity (Cleft) cd 10.98
If your pajama party guest list included Ween, Beck and Lou Reed, it might sound something like this. We have a sneakin' suspicion that lots of pot was involved in the creation of this music. It's a very very off-kilter blend of folk and rock. Things go off on weird tangents that seems very much the product of a mind, uhh, well-baked. If The Mattoid does not smoke the weed, we sincerely apologize, but you listen to these six songs (c'mon, one of the songs is called "Tinkli Vinkli"... wha'?!), and tell us you don't think the same thing!
MPEG Stream: "Joy"
MPEG Stream: "Tinkli Vinkli"

MATTSON, ED Kathy (Visionguild) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ed Mattson's debut cd features eleven laidback, down-homey country folk numbers. Joining him in the playing and producing duties is fellow Bay Area based indie rootsy singer/songwriter Clay Hawkins. Many of the songs bring to mind a more barebones brethren of warm, weathered Americana bands such as Red House Painters or American Music Club. Released on the new SF label and music collective Visionguild.
MPEG Stream: "Riverside"
MPEG Stream: "The Main"

MATZ, D. Ballroom Session One (Ambassador Transit) 7" 4.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Dan Matz of Windsor For Derby offers two tracks of solitary, singer / songwriter tracks with him, his guitar, and a couple of guys adding harmonium and melodica drones on one song. Pretty as some of the recent Windsor recordings, but no where nearly as intense as his Michael Gira collaboration.

MAUDLIN OF THE WELL Bath (Dark Symphonies) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Repressed and back in stock, these Maudlin Of The Well albums (Bath and Leaving Your Body Map) may be of interest to fans of post-MotW band Kayo Dot. Here's what we said about these when we first encountered 'em:
Andee and Allan saw this band play last year [1997, actually] at the Milwaukee Metalfest, and they made a definite impression: imagine a death metal band (three or four long-haired dudes with the requisite t-shirts and musical equipment) sharing the stage with several complete incongrous-looking college band geek -types (playing trumpet, violin, french horn -- highbrow western art music instruments like that). This band is then fronted by a short-haired singer with a mustache who is painfully, obviously really *into* Mike Patton of Mr. Bungle. They weren't that great, really, but it was a nice change of pace from the generic death/black fury of the rest of the fest! Now, here's their new albums (not one, but two) and our friend Drucifer tells us that they might be the records of the year! Well, we *never* listen to him...BUT...these are pretty astounding, actually! Bizarre and intriguing, anyway. We're not complete sure if they're really *good* or not, yet. This new stuff sounds kinda like a relaxed Ulver jamming after listening to some old Radiohead, only occasionally remembering that they're supposed to be playing metal. Or Voivod on a New Age kick. Weird! Lots of acoustic guitars and sensitive-guy singing. Mixed with church organ, mellow saxophone, watery sound fx (the disc is called "Bath" after all!), and some ethereal female vocals. The metal content is minimal, there's maybe only three songs out of the ten found here where the drums and guitars work themselves up into a truly metallic velocity and heaviness (but when they do, it's really heavy). "Leaving Your Body Map" is similar (we thought maybe one of these two discs was the "heavy" one, the other not, like the last two Areyon releases, but that's not the case). Like "Bath", this is on the pretty side. Delicate. Emotion-filled. Melancholy. Quirky. With sudden, unpredictable bursts of very heavy metal. These guys (and gals) have to be commended for trying something different, although it's a bit hard to get one's head around. They're trying to get something across that really hasn't been done before, and they're obviously talented. We're guessing that they're Hampshire College English/Music majors who also happen to be really into Opeth, Morbid Angel, and giant squids, and art. Check 'em out if you dare.
MPEG Stream: "The Ferry Man"
MPEG Stream: "Birthpains of Astral Projection"

MAUDLIN OF THE WELL Leaving Your Body Map (Dark Symphonies) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Repressed and back in stock, these Maudlin Of The Well albums (Bath and Leaving Your Body Map) may be of interest to fans of post-MotW band Kayo Dot. Here's what we said about these when we first encountered 'em:
Andee and Allan saw this band play last year [1997, actually] at the Milwaukee Metalfest, and they made a definite impression: imagine a death metal band (three or four long-haired dudes with the requisite t-shirts and musical equipment) sharing the stage with several complete incongrous-looking college band geek -types (playing trumpet, violin, french horn -- highbrow western art music instruments like that). This band is then fronted by a short-haired singer with a mustache who is painfully, obviously really *into* Mike Patton of Mr. Bungle. They weren't that great, really, but it was a nice change of pace from the generic death/black fury of the rest of the fest! Now, here's their new albums (not one, but two) and our friend Drucifer tells us that they might be the records of the year! Well, we *never* listen to him...BUT...these are pretty astounding, actually! Bizarre and intriguing, anyway. We're not complete sure if they're really *good* or not, yet. This new stuff sounds kinda like a relaxed Ulver jamming after listening to some old Radiohead, only occasionally remembering that they're supposed to be playing metal. Or Voivod on a New Age kick. Weird! Lots of acoustic guitars and sensitive-guy singing. Mixed with church organ, mellow saxophone, watery sound fx (the disc is called "Bath" after all!), and some ethereal female vocals. The metal content is minimal, there's maybe only three songs out of the ten found here where the drums and guitars work themselves up into a truly metallic velocity and heaviness (but when they do, it's really heavy). "Leaving Your Body Map" is similar (we thought maybe one of these two discs was the "heavy" one, the other not, like the last two Areyon releases, but that's not the case). Like "Bath", this is on the pretty side. Delicate. Emotion-filled. Melancholy. Quirky. With sudden, unpredictable bursts of very heavy metal. These guys (and gals) have to be commended for trying something different, although it's a bit hard to get one's head around. They're trying to get something across that really hasn't been done before, and they're obviously talented. We're guessing that they're Hampshire College English/Music majors who also happen to be really into Opeth, Morbid Angel, and giant squids, and art. Check 'em out if you dare.
MPEG Stream: "Gleam In Ranks"
MPEG Stream: "The Curve That To An To An Angle Turn'd"

MAULAWI Nururdin (Universal Sound) cd 21.00
From the "Now Thing" comp.

MAUS HAUS Lark Marvels (Pretty Blue Presents) lp 13.98
We've been getting tons of requests for this, and after many attempts at contacting the band, we've finally got copies of their full length vinyl debut!! Maus Haus is a local San Francisco experimental pop six piece group, whose analogue synth-driven sounds lend themselves to comparisons to bands like Hot Chip, Stereolab, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Aavikko and Grizzly Bear. They're sure garnering a popular following with floor-filling live club gigs and word-of-mouth buzz!! But Maus Haus also mine a more off-kilter chamber pop sound that often forays into adventurous noirish British jazz territory that set the group apart from their perhaps better known contemporaries and influences. Whipsmart lyrics, soulful harmonies and tightly shifting musical arrangements (pensive harpsichords, far-off flutes and hypnotic saxophone hooks weave throughout) aptly display the group's fine-tuned musicianship and makes this local band definitely one to watch! Each LP comes with a mp3 download card for those who are vinyl-impaired! Very Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "We Used Technology (But Technology Let Us Down)"
MPEG Stream: "Radio Dials Die"
MPEG Stream: "Million Volt Lights"

MAUS HAUS Winter / Zig Zag (Rocinante) 7" 5.98
Two new songs from this local Oakland sextet who are not afraid of tight and compositionally complex pop epics. Like a mix of Aavikko's energetic synthetic pop, Grizzly Bear's vocal harmonies and Liars urgent avant leanings, Maus Haus are probably amongst the hardest working local musicians and it shows! This white vinyl 7" comes with a download card for both songs plus three other brand new tracks from their Sea Sides EP. That's a lot of bang for your bucks!

MAUS, JOHN A Collection Of Rarities And Previously Unreleased Material (Ribbon Music) cd 14.98
Here we have a collection of unreleased tracks, lost songs and rarities from weirdo outsider lo-fi pop-smith John Maus, who was originally more of an Ariel Pink sideman, and who thus shared much or AP's sonic worldview, but it quickly became evident that Maus was his own sort of twisted genius, and quickly established himself as quite the iconic "singer/songwriter", one that seemed to eclipse AP for many folks around here, and it's easy to see why, even here. While many of these tracks were left off of records, and some are from super early in Maus' career, they still display his warped mastery of low fidelity cable access VHS late night synth pop balladry, "North Star" sounds like Scott Walker fronting later period Blue Oyster Cult and performing on Stairway To Stardom, while "The Law" sounds like yacht rock via eighties new wave via bedroom 4 track downer pop. And "Castles In The Grave" is like a Bollywood version of John Maus, and might be the best track here. The great thing about Maus is not just his ability to create these weird out of time, worn and faded pop sounds, but to imbue them with impossibly catchy hooks, and the sort of ear worms that continue to burrow brain-ward long after listening. There is some serious goofiness here (like the sub-Sparks "This Is The Beat"), but for every moment like that, there's another that's darkly sinister, or lush and sultry and dramatically brooding, or impossibly catchy and dementedly poppy, and while John Maus is definitely an acquired taste, it's one we acquired long ago!
MPEG Stream: "North Star (2008)"
MPEG Stream: "The Law (2003)"
MPEG Stream: "Castles In The Grave (2010)"
MPEG Stream: "I Don't Eat Human Beings (2008)"

MAUS, JOHN A Collection Of Rarities And Previously Unreleased Material (Ribbon) lp 23.00
Yay, now here on lp, we listed the cd last time...
Here we have a collection of unreleased tracks, lost songs and rarities from weirdo outsider lo-fi pop-smith John Maus, who was originally more of an Ariel Pink sideman, and who thus shared much or AP's sonic worldview, but it quickly became evident that Maus was his own sort of twisted genius, and quickly established himself as quite the iconic "singer/songwriter", one that seemed to eclipse AP for many folks around here, and it's easy to see why, even here. While many of these tracks were left off of records, and some are from super early in Maus' career, they still display his warped mastery of low fidelity cable access VHS late night synth pop balladry, "North Star" sounds like Scott Walker fronting later period Blue Oyster Cult and performing on Stairway To Stardom, while "The Law" sounds like yacht rock via eighties new wave via bedroom 4 track downer pop. And "Castles In The Grave" is like a Bollywood version of John Maus, and might be the best track here. The great thing about Maus is not just his ability to create these weird out of time, worn and faded pop sounds, but to imbue them with impossibly catchy hooks, and the sort of ear worms that continue to burrow brain-ward long after listening. There is some serious goofiness here (like the sub-Sparks "This Is The Beat"), but for every moment like that, there's another that's darkly sinister, or lush and sultry and dramatically brooding, or impossibly catchy and dementedly poppy, and while John Maus is definitely an acquired taste, it's one we acquired long ago!
MPEG Stream: "North Star (2008)"
MPEG Stream: "The Law (2003)"
MPEG Stream: "Castles In The Grave (2010)"
MPEG Stream: "I Don't Eat Human Beings (2008)"

MAUS, JOHN Love Is Real (Upset! The Rhythm) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The year is only just beginning but there have already been some amazing new records released that we're pretty sure will end up on our favorites of '08 list. This new outing by the enigmatic John Maus is one of them and it might just be the most engrossing and addicting albums we've been hooked on in a long time!
Best and barley known in the past as being loosely associated with the Paw Tracks family (Animal Collective, Panda Bear, Ariel Pink) Maus has made a record that will make his name definitely stand on its own. As he's created one of the most fantastical, bizarre and engaging pop records in recent memory. Warped bedroom pop with a flair for fantasy, wrapped in old fucked up synths, deep slowed down vocals, cosmic beats and a singular unique vision. Like OMD on codeine or early home demo recordings of The Cure captured on an answering machine tape that's been dubbed over way too many times. Or imagine a soundtrack to a lost early '80s movie made by both John Hughes and John Carpenter, as romantic teenage life intersects with magical apocalyptic doom! Love Is Real is as creepy and mystifying as it is heartfelt and endearing. As catchy as it is unpredictable. Out of nowhere the synths will rise to crazy loud levels or Maus will let out a haunting scream, and even after listening to this album hundreds of time as we have obsessively already, those parts still jump out, scare, startle and thrill us every time we listen.
Start to finish the album is impeccable. Songs lead into each other perfectly, the pacing is dead on, and every single track on the record belongs where it is and has a weight of its own. Whether it's sounding like the muddiest version of a Psychedelic Furs track or tapping into a bizarre drugged out cosmic disco excursion or having a freaked out panic attack, the record pulls from so many directions while always sounding like a completely other universe. This is what fantasy sounds like when the world around you is falling apart. Totally amazing!
MPEG Stream: "Heaven Is Real"
MPEG Stream: "My Whole Worlds Coming Apart"
MPEG Stream: "Tenebrae"

MAUS, JOHN Love is Real (Upset! The Rhythm) lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yeeeay! Finally out on vinyl now. Packaged so nicely too with the cd's shiny silver cover transformed into classy white on white (Even the vinyl is white!), but still with that original awesome full color sexy robot painting smack dab on the front cover! Now we get to play this in our bedrooms and jump up and down and lose ourselves in this amazing record all over again! Here's what we said when we heard Love Is Real for the first time....
The year is only just beginning but there have already been some amazing new records released that we're pretty sure will end up on our favorites of '08 list. This new outing by the enigmatic John Maus is one of them and it might just be the most engrossing and addicting albums we've been hooked on in a long time!
Best and barley known in the past as being loosely associated with the Paw Tracks family (Animal Collective, Panda Bear, Ariel Pink) Maus has made a record that will make his name definitely stand on its own. As he's created one of the most fantastical, bizarre and engaging pop records in recent memory. Warped bedroom pop with a flair for fantasy, wrapped in old fucked up synths, deep slowed down vocals, cosmic beats and a singular unique vision. Like OMD on codeine or early home demo recordings of The Cure captured on an answering machine tape that's been dubbed over way too many times. Or imagine a soundtrack to a lost early '80s movie made by both John Hughes and John Carpenter, as romantic teenage life intersects with magical apocalyptic doom! Love Is Real is as creepy and mystifying as it is heartfelt and endearing. As catchy as it is unpredictable. Out of nowhere the synths will rise to crazy loud levels or Maus will let out a haunting scream, and even after listening to this album hundreds of time as we have obsessively already, those parts still jump out, scare, startle and thrill us every time we listen.
Start to finish the album is impeccable. Songs lead into each other perfectly, the pacing is dead on, and every single track on the record belongs where it is and has a weight of its own. Whether it's sounding like the muddiest version of a Psychedelic Furs track or tapping into a bizarre drugged out cosmic disco excursion or having a freaked out panic attack, the record pulls from so many directions while always sounding like a completely other universe. This is what fantasy sounds like when the world around you is falling apart. Totally amazing!
MPEG Stream: "Heaven Is Real"
MPEG Stream: "My Whole Worlds Coming Apart"
MPEG Stream: "Tenebrae"

MAUS, JOHN Songs (Upset! The Rhythm) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Not to be confused with the John Maus who was in the Walker Brothers in the '60s this John Maus has been making warped baroque pop in the cozy confines of his bedroom in Minnesota for the last several years and is best known for his contributions to Ariel Pink and Animal Collective offshoot Panda Bear. Maus is one seriously prolific songwriter who until now has kept pretty much all of his own songs to himself. "Songs" is a collection of some of those dark pop offerings recorded at home over the last few years. Channeling the spirit of Ian Curtis and using vintage electronic equipment, Maus's songs evoke a hazy kind of daydreaming but with a much more morose slant. His deep voice got us thinking of folks like Calvin Johnson, Scott Walker and on the first track he's a dead ringer for Robert Smith. Dark weird pop done right!
MPEG Stream: "Time To Die"
MPEG Stream: "And Heaven Turned To Her Weeping"

MAUS, JOHN Songs (Upset! The Rhythm) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Also available on vinyl!
Not to be confused with the John Maus who was in the Walker Brothers in the '60s this John Maus has been making warped baroque pop in the cozy confines of his bedroom in Minnesota for the last several years and is best known for his contributions to Ariel Pink and Animal Collective offshoot Panda Bear. Maus is one seriously prolific songwriter who until now has kept pretty much all of his own songs to himself. "Songs" is a collection of some of those dark pop offerings recorded at home over the last few years. Channeling the spirit of Ian Curtis and using vintage electronic equipment, Maus's songs evoke a hazy kind of daydreaming but with a much more morose slant. His deep voice got us thinking of folks like Calvin Johnson, Scott Walker and on the first track he's a dead ringer for Robert Smith. Dark weird pop done right!
MPEG Stream: "Time To Die"
MPEG Stream: "And Heaven Turned To Her Weeping"

MAUS, JOHN We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves (Ribbon Music) cd 12.98
Love Is Real, the last record from warped lo-fi popsmith John Maus, is an all time aQ favorite, a dizzying trip into some alternate reality FM radio, where the Cure recorded on answering machines, OMD crafted pop hits on broken tape decks and malfunctioning 4 tracks, a cosmic beat laden dream pop drug trip that managed to be as catchy and irresistible as it was baffling and totally and insanely demented.
Needless to say, we were super excited to discover there was a new John Maus record, the strangely titled We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves, a record that got even stranger when we discovered there was a song called "Cop Killer" on it. Naturally we assumed it was a cover of Body Count's infamous banned jam, so we played that track first, and besides being surprised that it was in fact an original, we also ended up being totally blown away by what might be the sweetest, most dreamily twisted John Maus track EVER.
A broody, almost torch songy ballad, all woozy synths, and big eighties drums, Maus delivering the bizarrely provocative lyrics in his best warm velvety croon: "Cop killer, cop killer, Let's kill the cops tonight, kiiiiiiill them, cop killer, kill every cop in sight", and then the delirious refrain "Against the law" repeated over and over in a tangled storm of intense pulsing synths. The sound lush and explosive, thick and softly blown out, a serious shot across Ariel Pink's bow, a definite challenge for the warped lysergic lo-fi pop crown, a challenge that's gonna be tough to answer. Especially considering that the rest of the record, is just as good, if not as immediately catchy. But catchy it is. "Matter Of Fact" sounds like Maus channeling Devo through his cracked eighties FM pop filter, with some equally baffling lyrics ("Pussy is not the matter of fact"), and some gorgeous hazy synth ambience. "Streetlight" is total eighties new wave pop with the delay and echo effects cranked, the vocals careening wildly through dubbed out clouds of delay, while underneath synths pulse and rhythms groove. "Quantum Leap" is haunting and gorgeously gloomy, Maus the consummate crooner, his deep dramatic vocals bobbing atop thick bouncy basslines, handclap percussion, and lots of swirling sonic murk. "...And The Rain" is another darkly dramatic dream pop doom synth dirge, all rainy late night ambience, and again cloaked in thick swirls of soft focus distortion and blurred echoey shimmer, every track seeming to constantly grow more and more washed out and effects drenched, constantly on the verge of total collapse, but somehow, the more tripped out and damaged they sound, the more pretty and poppy and dreamy they become, a fantastically fractured collection of twisted outsider gloom pop that really has no equal. About as close to a perfect pop record as Maus is liable to get, assuming you like your pop buried in buzz and all blurry and druggy and woozy and warped. Which we most definitely DO.
MPEG Stream: "Cop Killer"
MPEG Stream: "Streetlight"
MPEG Stream: "Quantum Leap"
MPEG Stream: "...And The Rain"