• Record Label: Matador
  • Release Date: May 9, 2006
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 22
  2. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. Graced by a new lightness of touch and simply better as programmers, the two friends behind Matmos sound loose and lively where they once sounded stiff.
  2. Alternative Press
    100
    Fascinating as it is, Matmos' complex creative process would be for naught if it didn't generate music you want to hear more than once. [Jul 2006, p.208]
  3. Even if it's not as cohesive as their two previous albums, it's some of their best (and certainly most ambitious) work.
  4. The Wire
    90
    This is a remarkably rich and complex achievement. [#267, p.52]
  5. It’s both business as usual and their most complex set of ideas to date.
  6. As with the conceptual aspect, knowing the peculiar provenance of the noises on The Rose Has Teeth is actually supplemental to one's enjoyment of this suite... which stands alone as an enthralling aural experience.
  7. Challenging, ingenious, electronic surrealism for the brain and ears.
  8. There are a few moments when the concept's cooler than the result, but in general The Rose Has Teeth's experiments result in frenetic dance tracks doubling as reading lists.
  9. Somewhat self-indulgent, it's remarkably listenable considering some of the "instruments" used.
  10. At the purest of all levels, this is a presentation of sound in detail, which, to listen to carefully reveals surprise after surprise.
  11. Uncut
    80
    By turns poppy, cerebral and conceptually cute. [Jun 2006, p.106]
  12. Mojo
    80
    A record sensational only in the best ways. [Jun 2006, p.103]
  13. With The Rose... Matmos have created a work that fuses music and concept art, and doesn't sound like a terrible pretentious mess. It's an achievement that deserves your attention.
  14. It’s rare that a band broadens their musical scope while offering a more intimate glimpse into their influences in one fell swoop, but Matmos do that here.
  15. Matmos have created a digital manifestation of their own personality, one that would be done more justice through psychoanalysis than musical description.
  16. Matmos have created something dense, complex, puzzling and potentially meaningless to anyone but themselves and those who listen to music with their head instead of their gut, their hips or their feet.
  17. Spin
    60
    More danceable (and vulgar) than previous releases.
  18. New Musical Express (NME)
    60
    Easy to admire, but hard to really love. [27 May 2006, p.31]
  19. Q Magazine
    60
    Their cut-ups... work best when at their most odd. [Jun 2006, p.117]
  20. Ultimately, the problem with Beast is that both its concept and its performance are so defined by their academic removes that it's impenetrable.
  21. Under The Radar
    40
    One's patience for this material can vary, and without a visual component, the experimental tracks wear thin and won't likely be revisited. [Summer 2006, p.92]

Awards & Rankings

User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Negative: 1 out of 9
  1. MaryH
    Jul 4, 2006
    9
    Extraordinary concept album-- well beyond my already-high expectations. Plus, the album art is to die for.
  2. marcos
    Jun 8, 2006
    5
    Weak and boring.
  3. DaveA
    May 27, 2006
    0
    Time for these guys to put their foot in their mouth.