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- Summary: The seventh album for the experimental band is promised to include many kinds of synthesizers.
- Record Label: Matador
- Genre(s): Electronic, Experimental
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 16 out of 20
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Mixed: 4 out of 20
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Negative: 0 out of 20
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After a few listens, the entirely synthetic remainder that is Supreme Balloon is not merely a relief but a delight. If anything, the limitation of having no limitations has revealed Matmos as more skilled, stylish, and sculptural here than on any of their past releases--not to mention versatile.
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Ultimately, it underscores everything that’s right with Supreme Balloon--in the absence of any larger narrative structure, the group’s latest album afford them the chance not to be modern theoreticians par excellence, but rather a couple of earnest music fans that convey their own passion through the sounds they create.
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Daniel and Schmidt have created a peculiar album that reminds us of the majesty contained in vintage machinery.
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While The Supreme Balloon's nostalgic synthetic playground is a smaller statement than some of Matmos' other albums, it's still a strong one.
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FilterSupreme Balloon is homage to a certain tendency in electronic music practically dating back to its inception--one which Matmos most proudly, and justly, belong. [Spring 2008, p.97]
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Although they're purely instrumentalists, Matmos can too, with a charm that sets the laptop duo apart from lesser lights for whom chilly beats and icy synths are ends in themselves.
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Inoffensive, largely listenable, and accessible, the album is still stunted, and so never reaches the peaks of "The Civil War," still their best and most fully formed effort.
Score distribution:
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Positive: 2 out of 2
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Mixed: 0 out of 2
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Negative: 0 out of 2
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ElliottMay 12, 2008Love it, especially "Polychords" and the 24-minute title track.
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FelipeP.May 12, 2008Fantastic and hypnotic sound!
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