Some record labels are best understood through a single sound. Matador Records is better understood through a run of albums that each sound like nobody else: a confrontational double album, a quiet record about winter, a Memphis soul tribute, a debut from a songwriter raised in the Baltimore suburbs. If you are new to the label, these nine albums are a good place to start.
Every description below draws on Matador's own notes for each record, and each title links to its page in the Matador store.
Liz Phair, Exile in Guyville
Matador says Liz Phair's debut, Exile in Guyville, was first released on June 22, 1993. It is an 18-track double album loosely framed as a song-by-song reply to the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St. Matador calls it a classic upon arrival and says its profile has only risen since, describing it as an iconic work and a feminist landmark whose influence over female voices in music resonates more strongly than ever. Start here if you want to hear how much nerve one debut can carry.
Cat Power, Moon Pix
Moon Pix is the 1998 album that features Chan Marshall backed by two members of the Dirty Three. Matador's own description is memorably dry: the two-thirds of the band that do not play violin. The label calls it a breathtakingly beautiful, hypnotic record and goes as far as comparing its place in her catalog to a certain Van Morrison classic. It is a late-night album, slow and close, and it rewards patience.
Cat Power, The Greatest
For The Greatest, Matador says Chan Marshall returned to Memphis to chase the slinky Hi Records sound of the 1970s. She recruited Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, Al Green's guitarist and songwriting partner, to play guitar on the whole album, along with his Hi Rhythm bandmate and brother Leroy "Flick" Hodges with Steve Potts anchoring the band. Matador says the record adds Memphis horns, funky string arrangements and smooth background vocals to Cat Power's singular sound. Matador marked its 20th anniversary with a pink vinyl edition and a limited reprint of the original pink foil cover. Play it right after Moon Pix to hear how far one artist can travel.
Yo La Tengo, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
Matador describes Yo La Tengo's 2000 album And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out as an exploration of wintry landscapes of love, relationships and life. The label says the band stripped away layers of electric guitar chaos, leaving pulsing beats, acoustic guitar, ringing vibraphone and organ washes beneath nearly whispered vocals. Matador calls the result more mood swing than song cycle, and says Georgia and Ira's vocal performances here are genuinely intimate and affecting. It is the album to put on when the house is quiet.
Interpol, Turn On the Bright Lights
Turn On the Bright Lights is the debut album from Interpol, the New York City quartet. Matador calls it a filler-free, fully realized statement of intent and singles out the driving "PDA," the monumental "Untitled" and the haunting "Say Hello to the Angels." The label sums it up as a triumph of fin-de-siecle melancholy and youthful force. If you like your guitars sharp and your mood dark, this is the entry point.
Belle and Sebastian, If You're Feeling Sinister
Matador calls If You're Feeling Sinister the breakthrough second record from Belle and Sebastian, featuring the classic songs "The Stars of Track and Field" and "Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying." Matador released it in 2007, and the label notes that it is the subject of its own book in the 33 1/3 series, written by Scott Plagenhoef. It is gentle, literate pop and a perfect counterweight to the louder records on this list.
Kurt Vile, Smoke Ring for My Halo
Matador introduces the Philadelphia singer and songwriter's Smoke Ring for My Halo as his second proper album, since the earlier Childish Prodigy was a compendium of sorts. The label describes it as a gorgeously layered record that runs from the breezy folk of "Jesus Fever" to the tough guitar riff of "Puppet to the Man," a true American psychedelic folk album with a distinctly dark lyrical streak. It was recorded at the Magic Shop by John Agnello.
Car Seat Headrest, Teens of Denial
Matador says Teens of Denial was Will Toledo's first real studio album with an actual band, moving Car Seat Headrest from bedroom pop toward classic rock grandeur. The label lists nods to the Cars, Pavement, Jonathan Richman, Wire and William Onyeabor, and says the album was produced by Steve Fisk at his studio in Seattle between July and September 2015. Horns, keyboards and instrumental interludes sit alongside punk frenzy. Matador notes it was the first full album of new Car Seat Headrest music released on the label.
Snail Mail, Lush
Lush is Lindsey Jordan's debut album as Snail Mail. Matador says Jordan grew up in the Baltimore suburb of Ellicott City, began classical guitar training at age five and wrote her first songs as Snail Mail about a decade later. By 16 she had released her debut EP, Habit, on the local punk label Sister Polygon Records. The label describes Lush as a record about the chaos and messiness of growing up, built on tension that builds and never quite breaks.
Where to start
If you only pick one, make it Exile in Guyville for its ambition or And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out for its atmosphere. Then follow the thread that grabs you: the two Cat Power albums side by side, or Interpol, Car Seat Headrest and Snail Mail back to back for a run of sharp guitar records.
All of these titles are sold through the Matador Records store, often in colored vinyl pressings. If you are building a turntable setup to play them, our guide to the best turntables for beginners covers the basics. For more label deep dives, read our starter guides to 4AD and Sub Pop.
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