Plastic Anniversary - Matmos: Review
Matmos
is the electronic duo of M.C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel who have spent two decades making some of the most creative, genre bending and conceptual electronic music around. From sampling sounds like cutting hair and crayfish neural activity to crafting an entire album around surgical sounds Matmos have always been interesting and conceptual and their most recent effort revolves entirely around samples of plastic.
Review By Lavender:
I am a very big fan of Matmos, lets get that out of the way. Albums like Quasi-Objects and The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of The Beast are excellent efforts that help bookend their true masterpiece. 2001's A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure is a once in a career burst of creativity that results in a truly special album full of experimental electronic music that helped break ground for the genre. Given that the last Matmos project 2016 Ultimate Care II was both a unique experiment, created entirely from samples pulled from washing machine sounds, and an excellent experience, plus the fact that they were hitting it our of the park with single after single set up the expectation that Plastic Anniversary may be one of my favorite projects this year.
So lets start off talking about all those singles and just how good they were. The first one but far from my favorite plays with the plastic theme in a much looser way. Silicone Gel Implant has some good composition even the samples sound very synthetic and don't do a whole lot for the albums plastic theme it is a solid album track that confused me as a lead single, but they recovered quickly. Next came Plastic Anniversary a track I thought for sure would be the intro but it finds itself halfway through the project. It starts with a chilling and soft ambience before transitioning into a decent but not shocking groove halfway through that turns it into a pretty enjoyable few minutes.
This was the point where the singles shot into the stratosphere. Starting with Thermoplastic Riot Shield a song that pulls a killer groove from the object with which its titled after and transitions from one hard-hitting section to another like clockwork with only one real break to let you catch your breath. Its place in the tracklist of the project between two of the more measured tracks is genius and does a lot to highlight what makes it so special. Next up is Breaking Bread a track with a pretty simple pattern that finds itself more in the details. This track has one of the best grooves on the entire album and the texture of all of the samples sparkly surrounding it are an attraction all their own. Sounds pulled from the breaking of vinyl record are crisp and do a great job in introducing you to the world of Plastic Anniversary. And finally the 5th single, which might be the best of the bunch crazily enough is The Crying Pill. It's a moment on the album that pulls less from sharp grooves and more the brilliantly shrill and synthetic horn sounds that lace the song top to bottom. The sounds run the gambit of the brightest and most vibrant sounds and the way they are wrapped around and through each other is fascinating.
Given the headstart the album has from its fantastic singles, the rest of what's here is by all means good, but you have to think it could have been incredible. Interior With Billiard Balls & Synthetic Fat does its part and then some for that dream being one of the most abstract tracks on the entire project. The unmistakable clangs of billiard balls echo out into the huge space the ambience in the track creates and even though the song doesn't overwhelm you with sounds everything you hear is sharp and textured in a way that make even the most stark moments gorgeous. Plastisphere is the only other track here that thrives on the same level as the singles. It's a grating ambient piece that achieves a fantastic level of synthetic deconstruction as it fades from a busy but calculated piece into fuzzy chaos to end the record.
Collapse of The Fourth Kingdom is a pretty good tune with a syncopated rhythm and some very cool sample sounds but at over five minutes long it sort of overstays its welcome. Fanfare For Polyethylene Waste Containers is one of the most measured songs that has a driving rhythm but one that really takes the backseat in favor of some of the effects and layers of samples that are more focused and louder in the mix. Similarly The Singing Tube seems more like a way to incorporate some of their cooler samples than a composed song.
Matmos returns with yet another fantastic and unique idea to prove that they are just as innovative in the world of electronic music as ever before. This album contains some of the best material the group has put out in years and even in its worst moments finds ways to let their creativity and unique concepts shine. Once again the duo have provided an experience that is just too good to be compared to anybody else around them. 8.5/10
For more electronica check out my review of Gesaffelstein's Hyperion here.
So lets start off talking about all those singles and just how good they were. The first one but far from my favorite plays with the plastic theme in a much looser way. Silicone Gel Implant has some good composition even the samples sound very synthetic and don't do a whole lot for the albums plastic theme it is a solid album track that confused me as a lead single, but they recovered quickly. Next came Plastic Anniversary a track I thought for sure would be the intro but it finds itself halfway through the project. It starts with a chilling and soft ambience before transitioning into a decent but not shocking groove halfway through that turns it into a pretty enjoyable few minutes.
This was the point where the singles shot into the stratosphere. Starting with Thermoplastic Riot Shield a song that pulls a killer groove from the object with which its titled after and transitions from one hard-hitting section to another like clockwork with only one real break to let you catch your breath. Its place in the tracklist of the project between two of the more measured tracks is genius and does a lot to highlight what makes it so special. Next up is Breaking Bread a track with a pretty simple pattern that finds itself more in the details. This track has one of the best grooves on the entire album and the texture of all of the samples sparkly surrounding it are an attraction all their own. Sounds pulled from the breaking of vinyl record are crisp and do a great job in introducing you to the world of Plastic Anniversary. And finally the 5th single, which might be the best of the bunch crazily enough is The Crying Pill. It's a moment on the album that pulls less from sharp grooves and more the brilliantly shrill and synthetic horn sounds that lace the song top to bottom. The sounds run the gambit of the brightest and most vibrant sounds and the way they are wrapped around and through each other is fascinating.
Given the headstart the album has from its fantastic singles, the rest of what's here is by all means good, but you have to think it could have been incredible. Interior With Billiard Balls & Synthetic Fat does its part and then some for that dream being one of the most abstract tracks on the entire project. The unmistakable clangs of billiard balls echo out into the huge space the ambience in the track creates and even though the song doesn't overwhelm you with sounds everything you hear is sharp and textured in a way that make even the most stark moments gorgeous. Plastisphere is the only other track here that thrives on the same level as the singles. It's a grating ambient piece that achieves a fantastic level of synthetic deconstruction as it fades from a busy but calculated piece into fuzzy chaos to end the record.
Collapse of The Fourth Kingdom is a pretty good tune with a syncopated rhythm and some very cool sample sounds but at over five minutes long it sort of overstays its welcome. Fanfare For Polyethylene Waste Containers is one of the most measured songs that has a driving rhythm but one that really takes the backseat in favor of some of the effects and layers of samples that are more focused and louder in the mix. Similarly The Singing Tube seems more like a way to incorporate some of their cooler samples than a composed song.
Matmos returns with yet another fantastic and unique idea to prove that they are just as innovative in the world of electronic music as ever before. This album contains some of the best material the group has put out in years and even in its worst moments finds ways to let their creativity and unique concepts shine. Once again the duo have provided an experience that is just too good to be compared to anybody else around them. 8.5/10
For more electronica check out my review of Gesaffelstein's Hyperion here.
