SOUND-DUST

STEREOLAB as the Bio here states, began as the husband and wife duo of Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier. They formed the band in 1990, and are described here as an Anglo/French Kraut/Pop band. Their debut from 1992 called "Peng!" saw the band as a four piece. It would be album number two from 1993 that second female vocalist Mary Hansen would join the crew. Sadly this album I'm reviewing from 2001 would be her last with the band as she tragically passed away after this recording.

This was a band who shone in the nineties, but most fans would include this album "Sound-Dust" from 2001 along with "Margerine Eclipse" from 2004 as part of their classic era. The music here has been called Art Pop, Ambient Pop and a new one for me Indietronica. We get female dominated vocals that are whimsical, yet dead pan almost. Very samey throughout, and leading the way. Both female singers add percussion, so we get a lot of intricate sounds on this album, including the keyboards etc. This is a long one at 66 1/2 minutes when it's that uniform sounding. I'm just not used to listening to light, poppy music for such a long period. Crossover indeed.

The biggest surprise was seeing a couple of Post Rock names guesting. I'll get to them in a second, but there is a lot of guests on here. Mostly horns I might add. And not in a good way, as it reminds me of being a kid in the seventies and hearing those pop tunes with the lame horns on them. The great thing is that on the album that follows the horns are gone. Much more stripped down that record.

Back to the Post Rock guys. Well ever since 1996 and "Emperor Tomato Ketchup" John McEntire has been helping in a major way with production, but also as a performer. McEntire is from TORTOISE, but also GASTR DEL SOL and later RED KRAYOLA. I mention that last two bands in particular because Jim O'Rourke was part of those two bands and he started playing with John and STEREOLAB in 1999. Of course they bring a Post Rock vibe to the proceedings.

The two tracks that stood out for me are surprising because both have slide guitar on them. Not usually my thing, but it's just such a nice departure from the horns and vocals. The closer reminded me of THE BEATLES. The packaging here is an issue for me. Everything is in writing rather than printing. And not orderly, yeah I'm getting old. But why even bother having liner notes. But that's a Post rock thing isn't it. I had this in my car when I took out my middle adult kid last week. It was interesting after a while to see this Metal loving child reach over and turn it right down. Haha, this was out of character, but I get it.

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