The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast
2006 studio album by Matmos
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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.
| The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 9, 2006 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 61:28 | |||
| Label | Matador Records | |||
| Producer | Drew Daniel, Martin Schmidt | |||
| Matmos chronology | ||||
| ||||
| 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] |
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]
| 3:24 |
| 2. | "Steam and Sequins for Larry Levan" | Credits:[15]
| 5:20 |
| 3. | "Tract for Valerie Solanas" | Credits:[15]
| 5:07 |
| 4. | "Public Sex for Boyd McDonald" | Credits:[15]
| 5:52 |
| 5. | "Semen Song for James Bidgood" | Credits:[15]
| 5:02 |
| 6. | "Snails and Lasers for Patricia Highsmith" | Credits:[15]
| 5:52 |
| 7. | "Germs Burn for Darby Crash" | Credits:[15]
| 4:10 |
| 8. | "Solo Buttons for Joe Meek" | Credits:[15]
| 3:33 |
| 9. | "Rag for William S. Burroughs" | Credits:[15]
| 13:52 |
| 10. | "Banquet for King Ludwig II of Bavaria" | Credits:[15]
| 3:23 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Kendo for Yukio Mishima" | 5:54 |
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Dance Albums (Billboard)[16] | 21 |