Matmos, the electronic duo whose catalog includes albums made of sampled washing machines and medical procedures, have unveiled their latest gambit: a new album composed entirely of metal object sounds. Metallic Life Review combines the sounds of pots and pans, creaking cemetery gates, metal tape-deck reels, aluminum cans, and many other metals recorded throughout the duo’s history and back to Drew Daniel and M.C. Schmidt’s childhoods. A single, “Changing States,” is dedicated to the late Susan Alcorn, who plays pedal steel on the track. Out June 20 via Thrill Jockey, the album precedes a tour, including a show at New York’s Knockdown Center. Find the dates below.
Other guests on the LP include Owen Gardner, Swans’ Thor Harris, Half Japanese’s Jason Willett, and Jeff Carey. For the first time ever on record, Matmos recorded some of the album—namely the second half—live in the studio. Daniel noted in a press release, “We have the sounds of plucking the metallic gates around a tomb recorded in an underground crypt, the sound of cemetery gates, and the death of Susan Alcorn and the death of David Lynch occurred as we completed the album. We had already mixed the music with Susan before she passed, and we dedicate ‘Changing States’ to her. David Lynch’s way of being an American artist was inspiring to us and we dedicated ‘The Chrome Reflects Our Image’ to him.”
Metallic Life Review follows 2023’s Return to Archive and Drew Daniel’s 2022 album as the Soft Pink Truth, Is It Going to Get Any Deeper Than This?
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Metallic Life Review:
01 Norway Doorway
02 The Rust Belt
03 Changing States
04 Steel Tongues
05 The Chrome Reflects Our Image
06 Metallic Life Review
Matmos:
05-23 Wiltshire, England – Acid Horse Festival
05-25 Glasgow, Scotland – Baked Beans on the Doorstep
05-28 Berlin, Germany – Silent Green
05-30 Pordenone, Italy – Astro Club
06-01 Fano, Italy – Bagli Elsa
06-02 Roma, Italy – Monk
06-04 Genova, Italy – Giardino di Mentelacole
06-06 Milano, Italy – Museo della scienza
06-07 Bologna, Italy – DumBo
06-12 Vienna, Austria – Flucc
06-14 London, England – Rio Cinema
06-21 Queens, New York – Knockdown Center
06-25 Philadelphia, PA – Solar Myth
06-29 Chicago, IL – Constellation
07-03 Louisville, KY – Art Sanctuary
07-08 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
07-11 Los Angeles, CA – 2220 Arts
07-16 Portland, OR – Holocene
08-30 Washington, D.C. – Black Cat
11-22-28 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain – Espacio Cultural el Tanque / Keroxen Festival