MATMOS “Ultimate Care II” CD

Conceptual electronics duo Matmos' first new album in three years! An incredibly bizarre and pop masterpiece constructed entirely from the sounds produced by washing machines!

■Matmos is an innovative electronics duo formed in San Francisco and now based in Baltimore, consisting of Dru Daniel and M.C. Schmitt. Their first new album in three years is constructed entirely from the sounds of a Whirlpool Ultimate Care II washing machine. The album begins with the sound of a dial being turned to adjust the washing settings and ends with a buzzer announcing the end of the wash, making it a silly yet exhilarating one-song album that lasts just over 38 minutes.

■But Matmos is a masterpiece. It's full of all their hybrid musical DNA, from industrial to vogue, gabber, Miami bass, free jazz, house, krautrock, drone, musique concrete, and new age, and is intellectual, humorous, and extremely entertaining, sometimes danceable and even pop. It's hard to believe that it's all built around the sound of a washing machine.

■Guest appearances by Dan Deacon, Jason Willett (half Japanese), and other local friends (some of whom share the Matmos' washing machine).

■Includes a bonus track, "Low Agitation," available only on the Japanese version.

■Matomos participated in Björk's albums Vespertine (2001) and Medalla (2004), and were an essential presence in her live shows from 2001 to 2003.