Duo Max Lewis and Mirza Ramic combine a small army of electronic scratches and crackles with diverse instruments to create a ruminative and sedate album. 8/10.
Rock Sound
Chamber-quiet, spacious music overflowing with delicate, luminous piano, floating synths, far-off guitars, and warm, crackling percussion.
The Big Takeover
Arms and Sleepers mix haunting sonics with an offbeat visual aesthetic, building lush, moody soundscapes.
The Improper Bostonian
Max and Mirza write moody keyboard-driven soft pop tunes that sound very restrained and personal, but they also incorporate electronics and atmospheric sounds into the mix which give their tunes additional odd flavors… Lewis and Ramic are getting good at what they do. Quite damn good.
babysue
Matador is a body of work that's instantly relatable -- cinematic in its imagery and full of emotions as diverse and complex as human emotions really are.
Redefine Magazine
The stately, impressionistic Sigur Rós feel is still there (and unapologetically so), but there are moments of genuine songishness — especially on the breathless duet The Architekt and the pin-prick-numb Twentynine Palms.
Boston Phoenix
With Matador, Lewis and Ramic have succeeded in making an album where the beats and instrumentation are the stars rather than just the support for the melody and lyrics, which is no easy task. Even if this record were entirely sans-vocals, it would still have plenty to say.
Star City Blog
Listening to those songs is kind of like hearing an old friend speak to you in a dream, oddly but pleasantly making more sense than he or she ever did in person. Matador by Arms and Sleepers. A major step forward for a major artistic force.
Love and Mathematics
It’s like listening to a puzzle of a nature scene and it feels really good.
Verbicide Magazine
Matador is, like the profession of its title, bold and unafraid. It’s also compositionally solid, weaving similar elements throughout yet shifting in mood, tempo, and style.
Stereo Subversion
A fluid fog of quietly classical trip-hop chamber-rock, Matador, surpasses the passive to float over edgy, enigmatic elegance.
Maximum Ink
Arms and Sleepers ask you to stop, slow down, and pay attention to the moment. The repetition of trance is designed to hold onto that moment long enough for you to realize you don't want it to depart. Then it slowly withdraws, and you are alone.
QRO Magazine
Music Against Hunger
MUSIC AGAINST HUNGER is a fundraising project created by Mirza Ramic and Max Lewis, and part of the UN World Food Program USA. The goal is to raise $10,000 in support of humanitarian relief efforts to alleviate global hunger, particularly in famine-stricken East Africa. So far, $6,000 has successfully been raised. You can donate any amount (tax-deductible for US citizens) by clicking HERE and scrolling to the bottom. Thank you.