The latest releases reviewed.

MATMOS The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of the Beast Matador ****

Somewhere, some- how, after eight albums Matmos have found the funk. Best known for found-sound sample symphonies forged from the most esoteric of ingredients (past sessions involved recording liposuction surgery, for instance), Drew Daniel and Martin Schmidt have rarely sounded as close to enjoying the ebb and flow of a groove as here. Intended to be a sonic homage to such influences and inspirations as Joe Meek, Larry Levan, King Ludwig II of Bavaria and William S Burroughs, The Rose Has Teeth could so easily have been another triumph of tech-nerdery and avant-garde chinstrokery were it not for how the duo's mutant disco developed. Whether it's through the collaborations with the likes of Björk and Antony Hegarty or their own sense of playfulness, tracks such as Steam and Sequins and Public Sex have a giddy pace and a rolling gait as well as Matmos-friendly experimental edges and abstract demeanours. www.matadorrecords.com/matmos

Jim Carroll