Matmos, the electronic duo comprised of husband and husband Drew Daniel and M.C. Schmidt, have spent their career effusively churning out albums whose concepts are often defined by confines. They tend to pick a toolset limited to a theme that defies obvious musical association. Be it various plastics for 2019’s Plastic Anniversary or the titular Whirlpool washing machine model behind 2016’s Ultimate Care II, these sampling whizzes have proven time and time again that—with enough spark and elbow grease brought to their DAW—anything can be music. Their latest, Metallic Life Review, makes use of their aural library’s catalogue of metal objects.
“Norway Doorway” airs the record’s unquestionable mission statement as the first thing we hear is a naked gonglike reverberation. This is metal music in the literal sense. It’s a daunting opening but it has incredible yield, ringing at a seemingly endless duration. Daniel and Schmidt don’t wait long to display their wizardry, contorting some high-pitched friction into an uncanny trumpet wail. The fucked industrial jazz setting here recalls Angelo Badalamenti’s “The Pink Room” from the Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me soundtrack, and it’s not the record’s only nod toward that universe. “The Chrome Reflects Our Image” is aptly indebted to David Lynch. One would assume that, very consciously, Jason Willett’s guest guitar work smacks of the iconic picked single-note tone from the “Twin Peaks Theme”.
“Changing States” is Review’s most tuneful number, thanks to featured artist Susan Alcorn’s pedal steel guitar. Its notes, introduced in lush waves at their resonant peak, produce a synth pad effect—not without some additional manipulation from the duo—both icy and warm. These blanketed tones carry “States” from beginning to end, resulting in another bittersweet passage of beauty dedicated to Alcorn herself who passed not long after the song’s mixing.
“Steel Tongues” refers to the drum Daniel plays on the recording, a harmonious piece of percussion dating back to ancient civilizations that more commonly today is seen as a meditation aid. Just as obviously at play on the track is Owen Gardner’s glockenspiel, ascending the bouncy composition heavenward, blending with the drum notes in a bubbly cocktail. It starts with a pattern constructed out of something that resembles the classic flicked cheek “water droplet” impression. The beat isn’t dissimilar from the intro to LCD Soundsystem’s “Dance Yrself Clean” but instead of launching into a bonkers freakout boogie, the party gets sidetracked and wanders into a Rainforest Cafe.
The liner notes get particularly fun here, presenting a sort of “I Spy” game to those with exceptionally keen ears. Can you spot the scraped cemetery gate from Castletownshend, Ireland? The release of a Heidelberg printing press? The metronomic clacking of a Newton’s cradle? Matmos is nearly didactic in their science fair-esque presentation, especially in these first few tracks where they lay bare the resources they’re working with. Clattering of pots and pans, rattling of chains, plinking of xylophones, chiming of church bells; all in service of a unified movement. They show us the physical attributes behind each component such as elasticity and density, but opportunity always ends up being the highlighted quality. It’s easy to drink the punch they’re serving.
The namesake recording “Metallic Life Review” spans the entirety of side B. It’s a continuous 20-minute odyssey from Matmos and the LP’s sole selection sans collaboration. Fitting, as the life review at hand makes sense of the twosome’s lifespan in the form of an auditory travelogue, presented by the myriad metallic bric-a-brac they’ve amassed along the way. These samples include anything from aluminum take-up reels from a National Audiovisual Institute / Music Research Group recording in Paris circa 2007 to a struck prong on the gate surrounding Saint Sebastian’s crypt in Rome. Daniel and Schmidt are at heart some of the most curious and pure field recordists. They go to great lengths to collect peculiar audio, which frequently bears remarkable history and/or novelty, and then further their love for musical experimentation by solving for the impossibilities of what that already fascinating audio may be transformed into.
You may purchase the record here.
