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Feb 18, 2013 Issue #44 - Best of 2012 - Grimes By Dan Lucas

In 2012, Baltimore’s Matmos released The Ganzfeld EP as a “taster” for this album. It was reportedly the outcome of a series of experiments into the “science” of telepathy and unsurprisingly turned out to be enormously self-indulgent rubbish. The fear, therefore, was that the greater scope of the LP format would allow the duo to indulge in this further: As a scientific experiment, it may have value, but it does not make for pleasant listening.

Whilst there’s no denying that this is still a somewhat onanistic record, it’s nowhere near as indulgent as it may have been. This is largely because they have cut the 12-minute “Just Waves,” in which the test subjects’ transcripts are read out by the duo and a couple of other singers to create an annoying babble over a synthesised drone. This has admittedly been condensed to make the album’s nadir “In Search of a Lost Faculty,” but is one of a few low(er) moments amidst the sea of passable, anonymous dance tracks such as “Teen Paranormal Romance” that make up the rest of the album. (www.vague-terrain.com)

Author rating: 4/10