Supreme Balloon is a 2008 studio album by American electronic music duo Matmos, released via Matador Records.

Supreme Balloon
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 6, 2008 (2008-05-06)
GenreElectronic
Length49:16
LabelMatador Records
Matmos chronology
The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast
(2006)
Supreme Balloon
(2008)
Treasure State
(2010)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The A.V. ClubC+[3]
The Boston Phoenix[4]
Pitchfork7.5/10[5]
PopMatters[6]
Spinfavorable[7]
Tiny Mix Tapes[8]

On the album, Matmos skipped sampling antics in favor of a lighthearted "cosmic pop" record made entirely out of synthesizers. The exotic and antiquated synths used here heavily spotlight the classic 1960s/1970s/1980s consumer electronic rigs of Arp, Korg, Roland, Waldorf, and Moog.[9]

Critical reception

edit

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Supreme Balloon received an average score of 78% based on 20 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[1]

Mark Pytlik of Pitchfork gave the album a 7.5 out of 10, calling it "a woozily beautiful-sounding record, as crystalline, gleaming, and full-bodied as vintage Terry Riley."[5]

Track listing

edit
CD edition
No.TitleLength
1."Rainbow Flag"3:50
2."Polychords"3:31
3."Mister Mouth"3:48
4."Exciter Lamp and the Variable Band"3:21
5."Les Folies Francaises"2:24
6."Supreme Balloon"24:08
7."Cloudhoppers"2:58
8."Orban" (preceded by 10 minutes of silence)5:15
9.Untitled (silence)0:08
Vinyl edition
No.TitleLength
1."Rainbow Flag"3:50
2."Polychords"3:31
3."Mister Mouth"3:48
4."Exciter Lamp and the Variable Band"3:21
5."Zemoi"3:51
6."Orban"5:12
7."Les Folies Francaises"2:24
8."Cloudhoppers"2:58
9."Hashish Master"7:50
10."Staircase"4:25
11."Supreme Balloon"24:08

Charts

edit
Chart Peak
position
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[10] 20

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Supreme Balloon by Matmos". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  2. ^ Phares, Heather. "Supreme Balloon - Matmos". AllMusic. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  3. ^ Battaglia, Andy (May 12, 2008). "Matmos: Supreme Balloon". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  4. ^ Brodeur, Michael (April 8, 2008). "Matmos". The Boston Phoenix. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Pytlik, Mark (May 8, 2008). "Matmos: Supreme Balloon". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  6. ^ Mathers, Ian (May 5, 2008). "Matmos: Supreme Balloon". PopMatters. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  7. ^ Zimmerman, Shannon (May 6, 2008). "Matmos, 'Supreme Balloon' (Matador)". Spin. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  8. ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (May 6, 2008). "Matmos - Supreme Balloon". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  9. ^ "Matmos – Supreme Balloon – This Day In Matador History". Matador Records. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  10. ^ "Matmos Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
edit