STEREOLAB

I saw two other PA users review Stereolab albums so I decided to review one of my favorites by this art pop six-piece.

This is where all those consolidated sounds and styles in Stereolab's earlier albums suddenly splintered, separated and were given their own space (they hinted at it in Mars Audiac Quintet, but here it sounds charged). They still approach each song with the heavy hand of a rock sensibility (as opposed to their later smoother electro-jazzy- groovy-esoteric stuff), and cram it with experimental and inventive arrangements. A grab bag of unpolished gems. Equal parts orchestral pop, proto-punk, moog rock and funk, without actually adhering to any prefab formula. Yet to a lot of people in a lot of ways, it's the only Stereolab LP where you don't have to develop a whole new philosophy about the structure of popular music in order to appreciate it. But your parameters are challenged and broadened anyway. Take "Spark Plug", a funky number with meat, its groove offset by the robotic chant "auto production / auto organization". Or the buzzing Suicide pulse of "OLV 26", given a melodic warmth. Or the odd rhythm coupled with a Steve Reich-like vibraphone trance in "Tomorrow is Already Here". Like I said, it's heavy-handed. This ain't EZ listening. Even forays into schmaltz like "Monstre Sucre" have a weighted off-kilter quality. While tunes like "Metronomic Underground" and "Emperor Tomato Ketchup" are so catchy, so instantaneously addictive, you'd never guess they were built around riffs lifted from Yoko Ono songs. Everyone should own this, even to see just how influential they were. Subversive in its intelligent sense of fun.

4.5

(Originally written in 2022)

It seems like I am starting to make a trend of sorts where I review albums with a very similar sound, Yoshimi, Long Season, and now Dots and Loops. A trifecta of sorts of more dreamy psych rock with mixes of experimentation it's sort of funny to review three albums from three of the biggest continents, America, Europe, and Asia. Kinda unique how things manage to work out like that. Anyways, I was recommended to check this album out, so thanks.

So, about Stereolab. They are an English French band formed in the 90s with Tim Gane (Guitar, keyboards), and Lætitia Sadier (lead vocals, keyboard, guitar, percussion), both of whom were involved in the 80s pop group, McCarthy. Members throughout the band's history would come and go, some of which were from bands before, sort of and sort of not making Stereolab a supergroup. The band is considered to be one of the early post-rock bands, mostly from the first wave of post-rock, before the likes of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and modern-day Swans took the world by storm. They, Slint, Talk Talk, and Cul De Sac are considered to be forefathers in post-rock in a way, and while I could argue bands like Faust or Neu (or any krautrock group in general if you really think about it), generally speaking, the late 80s through early 90s is when post-rock was born, and bands like Stereolab are rather popular in small internet circles for this reason alone. However, do I like this record? Yeah, but not entirely.

The album begins with Brakhage, and this is when we have to get familiar with this sound right from the get-go, because the entire album is very closely similar to this one song. It is very easy to listen to, and when I say that I do not mean it's bad, I just say that in general, it is probably one of the most pop-sounding post songs to be conceived. The guitars are lush, the vocals are smooth, and the general vibe of this song is very soft and fuzzy. You can feel that this song is meant to be comfortable in a good way. It is relaxing, never too complex, and very easy to settle into. Not a bad start to the album, though I wish they did experiment a bit more.

Miss Modular, the next track on the album, is sort of the same. It is very easy to listen to and get a hang of, and while I like the song, this shows one of the faults this album has. Every song here doesn't change all that much, they do add new elements to slightly spice things up, but they never experiment with their sound. Each song feels the same, with no new emotions or thoughts and feelings, almost cookie-cutter-like. It feels weird to never see this, especially for an album that is very artsy and is considered one of the early examples of a genre that loves to bend and experiment with each passing song. I cannot say I entirely dislike it. I feel like they knew what they wanted to achieve, and with that, they have achieved their main goal of creating a very easy listening experience, so I do applaud them for that, however, their main goal should have a little more weight. It frustrates me to hear talent not being utilized to create something that could bend and shape rock or pop music, but instead never actually try to be unique or different.

This is an example of the 17-minute long song, Refractions in the Plastic Pulse. When I think of 17-minute songs I think of some big names that are very experimental, very groundbreaking, or very sonically enriched. Stuff like In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly or Ocean Cloud by Marillion comes to mind in which both songs try new stuff throughout, experimenting with the band's sounds to create a new sonic experience like never before in music. That is why I generally call 15+ minute songs epics because they break the mold, they try new things that previous songs might've not had the chance to do before in the album. Here with this song though it all just continues what the album did before, the only difference is that it has elongated itself into the double digits. Due to this reason, I felt immensely disappointed with this one track. It feels almost cheap to not have a long song that has at least some kind of new sound or something along those notes. It is clear they still can create good music with songs before and after this, with Diagonals being my favorite example with it adding horns to the mix. If this track did stuff like that and tried new things more often then I would say it's a great track, but as it stands it doesn't stand well in the face of so many other long tracks.

The rest of the album is again still very solid. Lush and harmonic sounds galore here. However, I have to say I find it odd this album is so popular with its very apparent and needless flaws. Quite frankly, the reception garnered feels undeserved. I do not hate this album, but it doesn't do much for me to love it. I'd say skip this one since for the first wave of post-rock there are much better, much more ground molding and much more diverse albums out there than this one.

— First review of this album —

3.5 stars. STEREOLAB have an interesting sound where we get this stew of percussions, drums, fake beats, electronic beats, bass, and intricate guitar. It's enough to make you dizzy, but then the female vocals come in which are warm and soothing. She will sing words, but she will also add a lot of wordless vocals as well. The music is uplifting, positive and catchy.

This Ep is a nice companion to their 2004 album "Margerine Eclipse", with them sounding very similar since they were from the same sessions. Underneath the information about who engineered it and mixed it etc. it says "Mary, thinking about you." Former band member Mary Hansen had only very recently passed. This Ep is over 20 minutes and five tracks. And my description in the opening of this review applies to these songs as well.

I do like "Microclimate" for the way sounds echo at the start. It's just a little different early on before the beats take over with vocals. A lot of electronics early on during "Mass Riff" but we have at least two themes being contrasted. A driving track that is the longest at 6 1/2 minutes. "Good Is Me" is an interesting mid-paced tune with contrasting themes. Bass, synths and guitar standout on this one.

This Ep along with a second Ep form the bonus disc for the recent re-issue of "Margeine Eclipse". And it's such a great package as it gives us everything associated with the "Margenine Eclipse" sessions.

— First review of this album —

"Rose, My Rocket Brain!" was the three song, 14 minute cd they sold on the "Margerine Eclipse" tour. The most recent reissue of the "Margerine Eclipse" recording comes with a second disc that includes "Rose, My Rocket Brain!" and the Ep "Instant O In The Universe". And as band leader Tim Gane relates in the liner notes, this reissue contains everything they recorded during the "Margerine Eclipse" sessions.

The biggest difference in my opinion between the three songs here and the main album is the lack of electronics on these 3 tracks. And it hasn't been given the Tim Gane makeover after the fact, like the main record. And I would put these three tracks over any from the main album. That's what makes this extra disc so special, and I'll talk about the Ep "Instant O In The Universe" soon. I should mention too that the song "University Microfilms International" is the unedited version, so it's actually 1 1/2 minutes longer than the original.

All three tracks are fairly subdued yet uplifting. Relaxed happy songs. I can't help but feel good listening to this music. "Banana Monster Ne Repond Plus" features lots of percussion and organ. Of course the vocals lead the way, including some wordless singing. I'm surprised at the experimental sections on this one. "University Microfilms International" is another feel good tune but a little different with all those intricate sounds, the guitar and keyboards too. Vocals and wordless vocals again. The closing title track opens with bass which is very satisfying as relaxed vocals join in. Catchy but laid back. Organ then guitar as it builds. Active drums and the vocals come and go. They go off on a detour after 2 minutes then back to happy.

It's perfect that this is included with the other Ep giving us over 36 minutes of bonus material on that second disc, all from the "Margerine Eclipse" sessions. Nice.

Going into this album the band decided to get back to basics. In their earliest days they recorded live as a band, and so this would be the direction taken here. They added a second keyboardist, allowing leader Tim Gane to focus more on the guitar. The two Post Rock legends John McEntire and Jim O'Rourke who had been involved with the recording process and production were not invited back. McEntire(TORTOISE) had been involved on the previous four studio albums. So changes aplenty. I was glad to see the guest horns that were on "Sound-Dust" were not invited back as well.

To quote Tim Gane "The making of this LP was dominated by one tragic event; the death of a great friend and band member Mary Hansen, shortly before we were due to start recording." Tim related that all of the instrumental music had been written before Mary's passing, but not all the lyrics. So that explains why this album is so uplifting and happy. That part was already done. Gane continues to tell that it was at one of those live in studio rehearsals that Martin showed up unexpectedly to tell them the news of Mary's passing.

Tim goes on "You'll have to excuse me if I don't have a perfect memory of what happened after that except to say that we stopped, packed up and went home. I don't remember what I was thinking about or what my state of mind was. Weeks passed before we collectively agreed on continuing to make music as a group and to carry on with this record specifically. Obviously nothing would be the same and the original ideas we had for the recording were dropped."

It's interesting that they decided to add these electronic pieces they call the Carlton idents. They had done these back in 1992 for Carlton Television, a series of futuristic sounding idents for a new season of programming they had coming up. Tim stumbled upon the demos for these and decided to incorporate them in some of the intros, outros and mid sections of songs on here. So the original live in studio thing was dropped. Just before the recordings began Tim decided to pan the speakers extreme left and right with nothing in the middle. "This led to the idea of having one version of the song on the left speaker and a second on the right speaker and the third 'version' would be the two combined."

The packaging here is so much better than on "Sound-Dust. In fact it's beyond the call of duty how much detailed information we get concerning this album. Like the album's title which has no meaning in relation the music. Like all of their album titles. Tim just liked it. This is about a dozen minutes shorter than "Sound-Dust" which I like, as it clocks in at over 53 minutes. Like "Sound- Dust" I can't say I'm in love at all with their music, but with "Margerine Eclipse" I at least have no issues with what I'm hearing and I quite like the warm and uplifting attitude. This is fun when you would expect a dark pall to be over this album. Not so.

Their last great record and worth a low 4 stars.

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.

The band's first full-length release of new compositions since the tragic death of Mary Hansen nearly two years before. Using an unusual and, of course, experimental engineering technique known as "dual mono" individual tracks are hard-panned to one of the two 'left' or 'right' channels giving them a mono feel despite the stereo sound. The effect of Lætitia Sadier covering all vocals, fore and background, is extraordinary for how little it makes Mary's loss seem. An extraordinary album on many levels.

1. "Vonal Declosion" (3:34) an amazing song with truly astonishing layers of vocals makes one confirm how important it is that Lætitia sing in her native French. Makes me realize how much I miss the "strings" and acoustic guitars of Dots and Loops and even Sound-Dust. (9.5/10)

2. "Need to Be" (4:50) the final minute downgrades an otherwise great song. (9/10)

3. "'...Sudden Stars'" (4:41) cool song with awesome Farfisa organ and complex keyboard weaves. (9/10)

4. "Cosmic Country Noir" (4:47) one of those stellar laid back groovin' tracks that has multiple parts, all equally charming and engaging. (9.5/10)

5. "La Demeure" (4:36) sparsely structured, this one, the 'Somewhere song', sneaks up on you. (9/10)

6. "Margerine Rock" (2:56) cheesy and too simple despite its overload of weird sound effects. Occasionally, even the gods show vulnerability. (6/10)

7. "The Man with 100 Cells" (3:47) smooth and soul-comforting. I'm a sucker for the Casiotone noises. Nice lyrics in English, too. (9/10)

8. "Margerine Melodie" (6:19) a kind of discofied ska beat supports a series of sensitive and pretty melodies--vocal and keyboard--but ultimately it fails to win over--despite its sublime midsection. (8.5/10)

9. "Hillbilly Motobike" (2:23) clavinet-based with a pop-click track, the opening section fails to engage and hypnotize, as was intended, and, uncharacteristically, it never really changes from there. (8/10)

10. "Feel and Triple" (4:53) slow guitar strums and drum machine support Lætitia's opening vocal before full drums and bouncy keys and bass pop in. Pretty nice groove. I like the instrumental sections, bridges and organ and lead guitar play best. (9/10)

11. "Bop Scotch" (3:59) another song with too many diverse ideas playing off (and, IMHO, against) each other. (7/10)

12. "Dear Marge" (6:56) First part (2:30) is okay. Second part is awesome. Third, ROLLING STONE "Miss You" section is tolerably good. (8/10)

An album that starts incredibly strongly but then looses its focus, magical chemistry and, ultimately, appeal. Seven great songs and five fair to middlin' ones do not a masterpiece make.

B-/a nice 3.5 star album; a nice addition to any progressive music collection that is recommended for its first half.

I am a sucker for Stereolab's music. (1997's Dots and Loops sits at #3 on my list of All-time Favorite Albums.) Sound- Dust is my second favorite from the group. The addition of horns is great but the more sectioned up songs doesn't always work for me as some parts are gorgeous and hook the listener in while the next part might be totally off-the- wall weird.

1. "Black Ants in Sound-Dust" (1:58) (3.5/5)

2. "Space Moth" (7:35) with it's 1:40 woodwind- and horn-laced intro, the song finally kicks into gear but doesn't really hook the listener until its fifth minute--and later when the horns finally return (12/15)

3. "Captain Easychord" (5:33) the piano-based song has many tracks weaving in and out including horns, steel guitar, and, of course, multiple vocal lines but it rarely feels as if all cylinders are firing (7.5/10)

4. "Baby Lulu" (5:13) one of my all-time favorite Stereolab songs, the melody earworms are endless on this one. (10/10)

5. "The Black Arts" (5:13) a gorgeous, hypnotic, emotional song (9.5/10)

6. "Hallucinex" (3:56) opens quite nicely, one of Stereolab's non-intro song that hooks you in right from the start, and the horns and acoustic guitars and tuned percussions are excellent, but it never reaches the heights of some of the others (8.5/10)

7. "Double Rocker" (5:33) for its first 2:27 this song moves along like a slow time-piece: hypnotic and soporific, then it kicks into third gear with a great sound and weave (9/10)

8. "Gus the Mynah Bird" (6:10) great, slow fade-in intro, then awesome body with gorgeous vocals; even the ambient mid-song shift and second half is pretty cool (9/10)

9. "Naught More Terrific Than Man" (4:10) one of the prettiest and best Stereolab songs ever. (10/10)

10. "Nothing to Do with Me" (3:38) is made so special by the 'dialogue' of vocals between Lætitia and Mary. (9.5/10)

11. "Suggestion Diabolique" (7:53) starts out sounding like the rare sinister-sounding S'lab song but then shifts in the second minute into the hypnotic, beautiful, PSYCHEDLELC FURS-like "jouer" section. The song springboards back and forth from positive to negative, yin and yang. (12.75/15)

12. "Les bon bon des raisons" (6:44) really showcases the vocal symbiosis of these two amazing vocalists with it's Beatles-esue opening half melodies but then morphs into a kind of space-satire piece for the second half. (12.75/15)

Rife with incredible highs, Sound-Dust is also populated with a few dogs.

B+/4.5 stars, a near-masterpiece of progressive rock music and an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection.

A very highly praised album by these pop/Post Rock/MathRock pioneers, representing a major leap forward in the band's evolution--thanks to the inputs and influence of TORTOISE mastermind's JOHN McENTIRE and his Chicago production team.

1. "Metronomic Underground" (7:55) funk and Hammond! Building layers slowly, carefully, this is a textbook illustration of a Post Rock/Math Rock song but with vocals. Not so very exciting, it's more like a band's study in and display of discipline. So clean and solid! (13.25/15)

2. "Cybele's Reverie" (4:43) introducing the sound the band would perfect on Dots and Loops, melody and weave. Nice use of Motown-like "strings." (9/10)

3. "Percolator" (3:47) more fresh introduction of sounds and stylings that will be perfected on their next album, the bouncing Farfisa and running bass line provides perfect backdrop for vocals (in French) and other instruments' additions. Slightly monotonous. (8.75/10)

4. "Les Yper-Sound" (4:03) or perhaps a blend of older British and French sounds and styles with a social-political message. (8.25/10)

5. "Spark Plug" (2:29) a sparky little modern dittie for the deliverance of another politically-weighted message. (8.75/10)

6. "Olv 26" (5:42) Interesting OMD-like sound palette over which the French vocal is a little pitchy. Becomes a little more CURE-like with the addition of percussive guitar mid-way. (8.25/10)

7. "The Noise of Carpet" (3:05) another 80s-like (even 70s punk in its simplicity and political lyrics) sounding song. This one feels a bit immature, not fully formed; it doesn't quite stand up to the quality and sophistication of the opening three songs. (8/10)

8. "Tomorrow Is Already Here" (4:56) Americana guitar and bass are joined by Hammond in a Math Rock weave. Drums and cymbals join in to set the stage for Mary Hanson's lead vocal. More social-political commentary. Sounds a bit like JANE SIBERRY. Nice Post Rock build and crescendo. (8.25/10)

9. "Emperor Tomato Ketchup" (4:36) CLASH-like "London Calling" opening groove with all kinds of squishy computer- synth noises spilling out over the sound scape. Great bass play. Vocals don't start until the third minute! Beautiful soprano vocal from Mary in French--adds so much to the stark foundational weave. (8.5/10)

10. "Monstre Sacre" (3:44) opens with some very proggy chords and sounds, slow and spaciously woven with Lætitia's gorgeous vocal front and forward enunciating the English words so clearly.Very cool song! A top three for me. (9/10)

11. "Motoroller Scalatron" (3:49) synth spits open this one before rhythm guitar, bass, and drums enter to provide very basic bubble-gum pop sound & structure. The multi-voice vocal harmonize the simple lyrics to make it interesting ("built on love ? words") Cute pronunciation of "responsible" in second half. (8/10)

12. "Slow Fast Hazel" (3:53) another cool song that previews that which will be perfected on Dots and Loops. My other top three and my favorite song on the album. (10/10)

13. "Anonymous Collective" (4:32) opens with a darkness that feels more like something from Dutch band THE GATHERING. Lætitia's very deep voice enters at 0:30 singing as if from a closet in the background. When she switches to an upper octave, her voice becomes a little pitchy. The music is getting a little monotonous just when she quits and allows for the simple, sparse inputs of other instruments. Not my favorite song by them: too simple. (7.75/10)

One of the standout features of this collection of songs is the perfection of the weaves. Another is interesting social- political commentary.

B/four stars; a solid contribution to the progression of pop-fusion music that demonstrates the band's willingness and interest in growing, evolving. Still, this is very much a transitional album as there are songs that find them caught in "old" patterns while, at the same time, there are songs that demonstrate new, fresh sounds and stylings. Dots and Loops will show the band's full metamorphosis and maturity.

Emperor Tomato Ketchup (named after a very Infamous movie) is an amazing modern take on krautrock, fusing elements of electronica, french pop, post rock and psychedelic. And i say *modern* because while there's pure 70s krautrock worship there's lots of stuff here that make it sound unique and frankly i can't find any other band that sounds like Stereolab, the sound is very playful yet laid back with hints of progressive pop, funk and electronica it's like if CAN was a french pop group with hints of THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, the album is experimental while still being very accessible, like i said it's very playful and laid back at the same time, i honestly find it impossible to not enjoy this album