Supreme Balloon

Last updated

Supreme Balloon
Supreme Balloon (Front Cover).png
Studio album by
Matmos
ReleasedMay 6, 2008 (2008-05-06)
Genre Electronic
Length49:16
Label Matador 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
Metacritic 78/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The A.V. Club C+ [3]
The Boston Phoenix Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [4]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
musicOMH Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Pitchfork 7.5/10 [7]
PopMatters 8/10 [8]
The Skinny Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Tiny Mix Tapes Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [10]
Under the Radar 8/10 [11]

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

Contents

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. [12]

Critical reception

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." [7]

Track listing

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

ChartPeak
position
US Top Dance Albums (Billboard) [13] 20

References

  1. 1 2 "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. ↑ Supreme Balloon is an airy sphere of joyful electronic possibility. [June 2008, p.103]
  6. ↑ Hogwood, Ben (May 12, 2008). "Matmos – Supreme Balloon". musicOMH . Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  7. 1 2 Pytlik, Mark (May 8, 2008). "Matmos: Supreme Balloon". Pitchfork . Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  8. ↑ Mathers, Ian (May 5, 2008). "Matmos: Supreme Balloon". PopMatters . Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  9. ↑ Glencross, Steve (May 1, 2008). "Matmos - Supreme Balloon". The Skinny . Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  10. ↑ Fitzmaurice, Larry (May 6, 2008). "Matmos - Supreme Balloon". Tiny Mix Tapes . Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  11. ↑ It’s an incredibly warm and playful new record that pays homage to Vangelis, Wendy Carlos, Perrey & Kingsley, and a host of other synth pioneers with Moog, ARP, Korg, and Roland-driven pieces. [Summer 2008]
  12. ↑ "Matmos – Supreme Balloon – This Day In Matador History". Matador Records . Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Matmos Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
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