Critic's Review
John Bush, All Music Guide
More of a free-form compositional whole than a collection of songs, The West finds the Matmos duo inviting over friends of all persuasions for a freewheeling acoustics and electronics jamboree. Drew Daniel and M.C. Schmidt are intrigued by the twisted sound sources of various generations of music, and in so doing incorporate chamber-quartet violin and cello, genuinely down-home jew's harp and slide guitar, and electric and tremolo guitar as well as next-step digital editing/sequencing. The highlight is the extended jam that takes up tracks three and four, beginning with Steve Goodfriend behind a shuffling drum kit while Acetone's Mark Lightcap does his best Delta impression on slide guitar. You can almost see Matmos out on the front porch, heads down in front of their laptops, mixing the material even while they're adding their own twisted effects -- including a plucked banjo and later, down-tempo electro-funk. It's seriously done but really playful, groovy even while it's slightly academic sounding, and experimental but undeniably entertaining. It's a delightful listen for those into skewed music from a variety of sources, from Marc Ribot to Cul de Sac to Kid 606.
