Supreme Balloon (Bonus Track Version)

The sounds of surgery, the Civil War, and historical gay figures have all been the focus or inspiration on various Matmos recordings. Supreme Balloon was created with the caveat that every piece of sound committed to the project had to come from a synthesizer (no microphones — essential in sampling the sounds of liposuction — for example), no vocals, no acoustic instruments or percussion were allowed). If words like “oscillator” and “Moog” and “EFX” get you all weak-kneed, this is for you. If not, you may be surprised at how the album speaks to the average musical explorer who doesn’t carry a Geek Club membership card. Supreme Balloon swirls, skips, twinkles, pulses, thumps, throbs and glides its way along, each mood and movement executed smoothly and seamlessly into the next, yet each turn feeling like a surprise. The 24-minute title track centerpiece is astonishing, playing like a contemporary classical creation that recalls not only Vangelis, but German art-rockers Can as well as modern minimalist Terry Riley, who makes an appearance on one of the iTunes bonus tracks, “Hashmish Monster.”