Although Matmos was playing in a venue aptly titled The Black Box at the Wexner Center for the Arts on Ohio State’s campus, the music was as colorful as ever and the box itself proved to provide tremendous sound and reverb as the band quickly blared through its set of experimental electronica.

When M.C. Schmidt picked up his guitar and sarcastically muttered into the microphone “Woopdie Fuckin’ Do” about the presence of the stringed instrument, the comment did mark a change in the mood and set as from then on the audience seems to relax and settle in for the rest of the show.

Matmos, known for its work with Bjork and using sounds from bible pages and crawfish nervous systems, were able to blend visual and auditory messages at a breakneck pace and allowed the crowd of several hundred to feel relaxed but still kept the conscious and subconscious mind active and alert throughout the jazz-like electronic extravaganza.

Touring to support its latest release Supreme Balloon, Matmos deviated from the all-synthesizer record and blended sounds from Balloon while converging it with sounds from the past. Aside from Schmidt’s various and never-too-often comments, very little speaking was done throughout the 90-minute set but the crowd favorite seems to be the squeaky fish that Drew Daniel seemed to meld into the show at just the most opportune times. Hell, it even got a yell-for as the band came out for its encore.

The encore consisted of a somewhat though-out jam session with opener Leprechaun Catering whose own brand of experimentalism seemed to clash a bit with Matmos. Aside from the somewhat lackluster encore, Matmos allowed fans to sink in to their chairs and soak in mindful sounds while also providing the more pop-conscious side of the brain to enjoy a very listenable brand of music that can often be left behind in experimental music.

Matmos will continue touring the US and Europe in support of Supreme Balloons and if the band is playing an area nearby, make sure to get a ticket and settle in for a touch of pop mixed in with experimental art electronica and a great couple of hours.