The Civil War (album)

For other albums, see Civil War (disambiguation) § Music.

2003 studio album by Matmos

The Civil War

Studio album by

Matmos

Released| September 23, 2003 (2003-09-23)
Genre| Electronica
Length| 45:52
Label| Matador Records
Producer| Matmos
Matmos chronology
| A Chance to Cut Is a Chance to Cure
(2001)  | The Civil War
(2003)  | The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast
(2006)

|
|

Professional ratingsAggregate scores

Source| Rating
Metacritic| 77/100[1]
Review scores
Source| Rating
AllMusic| [2]
The A.V. Club| favorable[3]
The Guardian| [4]
Pitchfork| 7.3/10[5]
PopMatters| unfavorable[6]
Stylus Magazine| B+[7]

The Civil War is the fifth studio album by experimental duo Matmos, released via Matador Records. It explores the boundaries between Americana, Medieval folk music and electronica. It features many live instruments such as drums, brass and guitars. A hurdy-gurdy is also sampled. There is also a satirical take on "Stars and Stripes Forever".

## Critical reception

[edit]

Review aggregator website Metacritic gives The Civil War a score of 77 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[1]

Heather Phares of AllMusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5, calling it "an album whose subtly oxymoronic title suggests the inherent contradictions of its sound."[2] Mark Richardson of Pitchfork gave the album a 7.3 out of 10, saying, "As a technical achievement and as a piece of pure sound, The Civil War is inarguably Matmos' best record."[5]

## Track listing

[edit]

No.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Regicide"| 2:47
2.| "Zealous Order of Candied Knights"| 4:36
3.| "Reconstruction"| 9:31
4.| "Y.T.T.E. (Yield to Total Elation)"| 9:08
5.| "For the Trees"| 3:31
6.| "The Stars and Stripes Forever"| 2:07
7.| "Pelt and Holler"| 4:17
8.| "The Struggle Against Unreality Begins"| 5:34
9.| "For the Trees (Return)"| 4:15

Japanese edition bonus trackNo.| Title| Length

|
|

10.| "Cabin in the Sky"| 9:03

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "The Civil War by Matmos". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
2. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "The Civil War - Matmos". AllMusic. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
3. ^ Battaglia, Andy (September 22, 2003). "Matmos: The Civil War". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
4. ^ Wyse, Pascal (September 18, 2003). "Matmos, The Civil War". The Guardian. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
5. ^ a b Richardson, Mark (October 13, 2003). "Matmos: The Civil War". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
6. ^ Pugh, Mitch (October 16, 2003). "Matmos: The Civil War". PopMatters. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
7. ^ Shiflet, Mike (September 29, 2003). "Matmos - The Civil War". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved March 14, 2017.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Micallef, Ken (2003). "The Civil War (Music)". Remix. 5 (10): 100. ISSN 1532-1347. EBSCOhost 11814973.
* Moody, Rick; Snediker, Michael D. (2012). "On the Doctoral Dissertation of One Electroacoustic Musician (Fragments)". Journal of Popular Music Studies (Wiley-Blackwell). 24 (1): 87–106\. doi:10.1111/j.1533-1598.2012.01318.x. ISSN 1524-2226. EBSCOhost 73794039.
* Roseberry, Craig; Paoletta, Michael (October 18, 2003). "The Civil War (Music)". Billboard. 115 (42): 32. ISSN 0006-2510 - via EBSCOhost.

## External links

[edit]

* The Civil War at Discogs (list of releases)

* v
* t
* e

Matmos

Studio albums|

* Matmos
* Quasi-Objects
* The West
* A Chance to Cut Is a Chance to Cure
* The Civil War
* The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast
* Supreme Balloon
* Treasure State
* The Marriage of True Minds
* Ultimate Care II
* Plastic Anniversary
* The Consuming Flame
* Regards/Ukłony dla Bogusław Schaeffer
* Return to Archive
* Metallic Life Review

EPs|

* Full On Night
* California Rhinoplasty

Related articles|

* Vespertine

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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