Stereolab
Stereolab, ‘Transient Random-Noise With Announcements’, 1993. Ah, the ‘Lab. I loved them. Saw them play in a small Camden pub early 1992. Bought the single ‘Super Electric’ and saw them whenever I could. Gigs were small and full of happy dancing bodies. During Britpop I lived abroad and when I saw them again after a gap of 3 years it was at the Kilburn National. A big venue as befits a band who’d been on ‘Top of The Pops’ (something that had happened whilst I was away) and it was… sad. From seeing this lovely little groop in a pub only a few years before they were now flavour-of-the-month Indie. Nobody danced. It was all standing and gawping. We’re cool coz we’re watching a cool band. No joy. Killed it for me.
So, with my lockdown hat on, I dug out an album. I had fun but definitely a band who were ‘better live, prefer their old stuff’. This double album has everything you need from the band. Extended motorik beats (the drummer was a rockin’ machine live!), Ye-Ye French pop vocals (lots of “ba-ba-ba”s), analogue synths, locked guitar riffs, fierce bursts of electronic squall, pretty floating harmonies and melodies. Singer Laetitia is French, which lends the whole thing an air of inscrutable cool. Plus, the lyrics reference Marxist thought, underground cinema, Sixties pop, Existentialism and the like, but all slightly tongue-in-cheek.
‘Tone Burst’ swirly keyboards over jangly riff. ‘Our Trinitone Blast’ female voices driving another riff and beat. ‘Pack Yr Romantic Mind’ pretty and floaty with Sixties pop feel fused with riffage. ‘I’m Going Out of My Mind’ channel the Velvets in another extended riff with droning keyboard. ‘Golden Ball’ slowly building riff – what they do best. ‘Pause’ is slow woozy keyboards before veering off into Bontempi beats and French voices. ‘Jenny Ondioline’ is more Velvets-esque/Krautrock riffing, with harmonies, filling up all of Side 3. Good driving track. ‘Analogue Rock’ is more metronome beat with stabbing keyboards and harmonies. ‘Crest’ the same, but different. ‘Lock-Groove Lullaby’ big strummed bass and noises with floaty French vocal.
Nice. A lovely little jewel of a pop combo.
Stereolab
Stereolab, ‘Transient Random-Noise With Announcements’, 1993. Ah, the ‘Lab. I loved them. Saw them play in a small Camden pub early 1992. Bought the single ‘Super Electric’ and saw them whenever I could. Gigs were small and full of happy dancing bodies. During Britpop I lived abroad and when I saw them again after a gap of 3 years it was at the Kilburn National. A big venue as befits a band who’d been on ‘Top of The Pops’ (something that had happened whilst I was away) and it was… sad. From seeing this lovely little groop in a pub only a few years before they were now flavour-of-the-month Indie. Nobody danced. It was all standing and gawping. We’re cool coz we’re watching a cool band. No joy. Killed it for me.
So, with my lockdown hat on, I dug out an album. I had fun but definitely a band who were ‘better live, prefer their old stuff’. This double album has everything you need from the band. Extended motorik beats (the drummer was a rockin’ machine live!), Ye-Ye French pop vocals (lots of “ba-ba-ba”s), analogue synths, locked guitar riffs, fierce bursts of electronic squall, pretty floating harmonies and melodies. Singer Laetitia is French, which lends the whole thing an air of inscrutable cool. Plus, the lyrics reference Marxist thought, underground cinema, Sixties pop, Existentialism and the like, but all slightly tongue-in-cheek.
‘Tone Burst’ swirly keyboards over jangly riff. ‘Our Trinitone Blast’ female voices driving another riff and beat. ‘Pack Yr Romantic Mind’ pretty and floaty with Sixties pop feel fused with riffage. ‘I’m Going Out of My Mind’ channel the Velvets in another extended riff with droning keyboard. ‘Golden Ball’ slowly building riff – what they do best. ‘Pause’ is slow woozy keyboards before veering off into Bontempi beats and French voices. ‘Jenny Ondioline’ is more Velvets-esque/Krautrock riffing, with harmonies, filling up all of Side 3. Good driving track. ‘Analogue Rock’ is more metronome beat with stabbing keyboards and harmonies. ‘Crest’ the same, but different. ‘Lock-Groove Lullaby’ big strummed bass and noises with floaty French vocal.
Nice. A lovely little jewel of a pop combo.