Return to Archive is the fourteenth studio album by electronic duo Matmos, released on November 3, 2023. It uses non-music material sourced from the Smithsonian Folkways collection in its composition; the album itself was commissioned to commemorate Folkways’ 75th anniversary. [1]
Background
September 18, 2023, Matmos announced the release of their fourteenth studio album, along with the first single “Mud-Dauber Wasp”.[2]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 78/100[3] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Pitchfork | 7.4/10[5] |
| Mojo | [6] |
| Uncut | 7/10[7] |
| Under the Radar | 6/10[8] |
Return to Archive was met with “generally favorable” reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 78, based on 7 reviews.[3]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Drew Daniel and M. C. Schmidt.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Good Morning Electronics” | 1:05 |
| 2. | “Injection Basic Sound” | 2:55 |
| 3. | “Mud-Dauber Wasp” | 3:35 |
| 4. | “Music or Noise?” | 4:12 |
| 5. | “Why?” (featuring Evicshen) | 4:03 |
| 6. | “Lend Me Your Ears” | 3:46 |
| 7. | “Return to Archive” (featuring Aaron Dilloway) | 13:28 |
| 8. | “The Way Japanese Beetles Sound to a Rose” | 1:28 |
| 9. | “Going to Sleep” (featuring Aaron Dilloway) | 6:44 |
| Total length: | 41:18 | |
Personnel
Matmos
- Drew Daniel – production, programming (all tracks); DJ (track 4)
- M. C. Schmidt – production (all tracks), programming (2–7, 9)
References
- ^ Butchard, Skye (November 1, 2023). “The Quietus – Reviews – Matmos”. The Quietus. Archived from the original on November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
- ^ Eede, Christian (September 18, 2023). “Matmos Unveil New Album”. The Quietus. Archived from the original on August 6, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ a b “Critic Reviews for Return to Archive”. Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 8, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ Phares, Heather. “Matmos – Return to Archive”. AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
- ^ Blackwell, Matthew (November 9, 2023). “Matmos: Return to Archive”. Pitchfork. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ Unlikely to soundtrack your next dinner party, but it’s hard not to marvel at Matmos’s cut-and-paste mastery. [Jan 2023, p.93]
- ^ The pair’s keen rhythmic sense makes even the unusual palatable. [Review of the Year 2023, p.30]
- ^ Trunick, Austin (November 3, 2023). “Under the Radar Review”. Under the Radar. Archived from the original on November 3, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
Further reading
- Slingerland, Calum (September 7, 2023). “Matmos Mine ‘Non-Musical’ Folkways Recordings for New Album ‘Return to Archive’“. Exclaim!. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
- Trunick, Austin (November 3, 2023). “Return to Archive”. Under the Radar. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
