The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast

The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast
Studio album by Matmos
Released	May 9, 2006 (2006-05-09)
Genre	Electronic musique concrète [1]
Length	61:28
Label	Matador Records
Producer	Drew Daniel, Martin Schmidt
Matmos chronology
The Civil War (2003) The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast (2006) Supreme Balloon (2008)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100 [2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Alternative Press	[4]
The A.V. Club	A [5]
Drowned in Sound	8/10 [6]
Mojo	[7]
Pitchfork	8.0/10 [8]
PopMatters	7/10 [9]
Slant Magazine	[10]
Stylus	B+ [11]
Uncut	8/10 [12]

The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast is the sixth studio album by Matmos. Each of the album's songs is dedicated to a notable gay or lesbian person who has influenced the duo, ^[10] and this influence is reflected in the songs themselves. For examples, "Rag for William S. Burroughs" features the clatter of a type writer and a gunshot, representing the William Tell incident, and "Tract for Valerie Solanas" contains excerpts from the SCUM Manifesto .

As with earlier releases, the duo make use of field recordings in the music, recordings that range from ordinary things to more absurd sounds, such as a recording of a bovine uterus. ^[13] The album's title is taken from a line in Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations. ^[10]

Critical reception

The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast received positive reviews from music critics. Review aggregator website Metacritic gives it a score of 81 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". ^[2] Brandon Stosuy, writing for Pitchfork , wrote in a positive review that "there are a few moments when the concept's cooler than the result, but in general The Rose Has Teeth's experiments result in frenetic dance tracks doubling as reading lists." ^[8]

Jonathan Keefe, writing for Slant Magazine , called the album "endlessly fascinating" but concluded that "even armed with a cheat sheet from Wikipedia and a desire to figure out the significance of every last hair clipper and gunshot, the album never engages as anything more than an academic exercise." ^[10]

Pitchfork placed it at number 47 on the "Top 50 Albums of 2006" list. ^[14]

Track listing

No.	Title	Notes	Length
1.	"Roses and Teeth for Ludwig Wittgenstein"	Credits: [15] Guitar [twang guitar], Performer [electronics] – Jay Lesser Performer [cow recordings, goose call], Mixed By – M.C. Schmidt Performer [roses, teeth, manure, sampling, sequencing, digital editing] – Drew Daniel Voice [excerpts from Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations read aloud by] – Björk Guðmundsdóttir, Laetitia Sonami, Marcus Schmickler, Rose McKereghan, Werner Phillip Schmidt, Zum Zoom	3:24
2.	"Steam and Sequins for Larry Levan"	Credits: [15] Drums – Steve Goodfriend Guitar [electric guitar], Horns [peck horn], Trumpet – Mark Lightcap Performer [electronics] – John Talaga Performer [steam, sewing machine, sequins, Arp 2600, sampling, sequencing, digital editing] – Drew Daniel Performer [V-synth, tambourine, shaker, saucepan], Mixed By – M.C. Schmidt Synthesizer [Arp 2600] – Matthew Curry Voice – Kalonica McQuesten	5:20
3.	"Tract for Valerie Solanas"	Credits: [15] Performer [cow uterus, reproductive tract, vagina, vacuum cleaner, plastic gloves], Mixed By – M.C. Schmidt Performer [sampling, sequencing, digital editing, machete, scissors, knives, paper, Personal alarms (rape alarms)] – Drew Daniel Voice [excerpts from Valerie Solanas' The SCUM Manifesto read by] – Barbara Golden, Yalie Kumara	5:07
4.	"Public Sex for Boyd McDonald"	Credits: [15] Drums – Steve Goodfriend Guitar [electric guitar], Trumpet – Mark Lightcap Performer [pen, paper, typewriter, videotape, sampling, sequencing, digital editing, Arp 2600] – Drew Daniel Saxophone – Stephen Thrower Synthesizer [Arp 2600, Sh 101, V-synth, Juno 6], Performer [Videotape], Mixed By – M.C. Schmidt	5:52
5.	"Semen Song for James Bidgood"	Credits: [15] Arranged By [String Arrangement] – Jefferson Friedman Cello – Clarice Jensen Harp – Zeena Parkins Keyboards [V-synth, piano], Performer [sampling, sequencing], Mixed By – M.C. Schmidt Performer [file transfers, effects] – Jon Leidecker Performer [sampling, sequencing, digital editing, toilet paper roll panflute, paper, semen] – Drew Daniel Piano – Matthew Fuerst Strings – American Contemporary Music Ensemble Viola – Bridget Fitzgerald Violin – Erik Carlson, Miranda Cuckson Voice – Anohni Hegarty	5:02
6.	"Snails and Lasers for Patricia Highsmith"	Credits: [15] Double bass – Brian O'Reilly Drums – Steve Goodfriend French horn – Amy Vaillancourt Performer [sampling, sequencing, digital editing] – Drew Daniel Performer [sequencing, V-synth, Ms2000, books, brushes, live garden snails, glass cylinder, Light-sensitive theremin], Mixed By – M.C. Schmidt	5:52
7.	"Germs Burn for Darby Crash"	Credits: [15] Performer [Arp 2600, Wahl hair clipper, hair] – M.C. Schmidt Performer [lighter, cigarette] – Don Bolles Performer [sampling, sequencing, digital editing, burnt flesh, cry of pain] – Drew Daniel	4:10
8.	"Solo Buttons for Joe Meek"	Credits: [15] Arranged By [String Arrangement] – Lev "Ljova" Zhurbin Bass – Jay Lesser Cello – Jeffrey Zeigler Drums – Steve Goodfriend Guitar – Mark Lightcap Performer [tapes, synths, sampling, sequencing, digital editing] – Drew Daniel Performer [whinging] – M.C. Schmidt Strings – Kronos Quartet Viola – Hank Dutt Violin – David Harrington, John Sherba	3:33
9.	"Rag for William S. Burroughs"	Credits: [15] Goblet Drum [darbuka] – Darcy Bartoletti Performer [amateur piano, sampling, V-synth, sequencing, tape recorder, typewriter, vacuum cleaner tube, horn] – M.C. Schmidt Performer [Burroughs adding machines, film projectors] – Michael Brown Performer [electronics] – Jay Lesser Performer [Heidelberg windmill, Chandler And Price printing presses] – Leif Fairfield Performer [sampling, sequencing, digital editing, bombard, tape recorder, shortwave radio, marbles, keys, Efx] – Drew Daniel Trumpet – Mark Lightcap Violin – Blevin Blectum	13:52
10.	"Banquet for King Ludwig II of Bavaria"	Credits: [15] Drums, Percussion [sleighbells] – Steve Goodfriend French horn – Amy Vaillancourt Performer [glassware, dishes, coconuts, sampling, sequencing, V-synth] – M.C. Schmidt Performer [glassware, dishes, sampling, sequencing, digital editing] – Drew Daniel Tuba, Horns [peck horn], Performer [plastic tube] – Mark Lightcap Voice – Maja S. K. Ratkje	3:23

Japanese edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Kendo for Yukio Mishima"	5:54

Charts

Chart	Peak position
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard) [16]	21

References

1. Flavorwire Staff (February 12, 2009). "Exclusive: Pics and Buzz from Big Ears Fest". Flavorwire. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
2. The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast, by Matmos Metacritic. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
3. Heather Phares, The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast review AllMusic . Retrieved November 1, 2015.
4. Fascinating as it is, Matmos' complex creative process would be for naught if it didn't generate music you want to hear more than once. [Jul 2006, p.208]
5. Andy Battaglia, The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast review The A.V. Club , May 17, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
6. Rachel Cawley, The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast review Archived 2017-03-15 at the Wayback Machine Drowned in Sound , May 13, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
7. A record sensational only in the best ways. [Jun 2006, p.103]
8. Brandon Stosuy, The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast review PItchfork , May 9, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
9. Kevin Jagernauth, The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast review PopMatters , May 22, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
10. Jonathan Keefe, The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast review Slant Magazine , May 19, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
11. Scott McKeating, The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast review Stylus Magazine , May 9, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
12. By turns poppy, cerebral and conceptually cute. [Jun 2006, p.106]
13. "Matmos at Matador Records".
14. "Top 50 Albums of 2006 (1/5)". Pitchfork . December 19, 2006. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
15. Album credits, Discogs.com. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
16. "Matmos Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2019.

External links

• The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast at Discogs (list of releases)