'The Civil War' is the new album by San Francisco electronic duo Matmos. A hallucinatory double exposure of medieval English folk and 19th century Americana, The Civil War finds Matmos experimenting with a dramatically different palette from their critically acclaimed exploration of medical technology 'A Chance to Cut Is A Chance to Cure'. Though there's nary a scalpel in sight, their humorous cut-up sensibility and willingness to take risks remains intact. In a time when most electronic artists seem desperate to ape the sounds of 1983 as closely as possible, Matmos have tried to make the 2003 version of the 1990 version of the 1968 version of the 1860 version of the 1590s. Across the nine tracks on 'The Civil War', production styles and instrumentation keep telescoping backwards and projecting forwards, producing weirdly anachronistic dialogues: medieval jigs and reels joust against country and western twang, and pastoral acoustic folk gets pistolwhipped by crisp digital editing techniques.

The Struggle Against Unreality Begins

Alternative Retro and Psychedelic

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