Oscillons From the Anti-Sun

Where to start?
Stereolab is a seminal French indie-pop band, formed about 1990. This CD is a hodgepodge sampling of a new 3 CD boxset of rare/import singles and other hits. As the disc shows, Stereolab has championed a variety of styles. But in general, the group combines krautrock influences (picture the entrancing guitar-strums of Neu!) Bossa twinges (picture the garage-samba vibe of Antena), and space-funk grooves, all with very solid indie-pop composition. Add the dreamy vocal duo of Laetitia Sadier and Mary Hansen (now deceased, rest her soul), and you have a winning formula for highly accessible and catchy, yet intelligent pop music. No surprise, then, that Stereolab has become one of the more important bands in the history of the genre (and maybe indie music as a whole). I found the track selection here a bit curious, but it’s still great!

Apologies if I come across as a fanboy, but I’d be deceiving you if I didn’t tell you that Stereolab is one of my all time favorites. Play play play play play!

Almost every track gets my high recommendations, so I won’t bother selecting highlights.

- Captain Dee, June 2005


Note: most songs are about 3-4 minutes long.

1. Lush horns over sunny jam. Very European. Fun!
2. Bossa-ish guitar strums, organ, dreamy vocal duet. Relaxing.
3. Deep resounding organ, spacey sounds, hard-hitting electric guitar. Fuck yes!
4. Super space-y vibe. Bubbly space-pop feel, catchy vocal duet, organ phasing. The track name “Pinball” is apt.
5. A classic from Emperor Tomato Ketchup. Mid-tempo carefree groove, stirring strings accompaniment. Lyrics are in French.
6. Messy, rumbling groove. Futuristic sound effects, silly-ish French vocals.
7. Waltz-y groove. Great touches of horns and flute. Relaxed singing. Second half changes time signature. Lovely!
8. ROCK! Loud unrelenting guitars with a punk feel, great bassline, insanely catchy melody, monster movie-ish touches of organ.
9. Acoustic guitar and chime-y melody. Some really funky breakdowns. Very wistful feel. Wow!! I had never heard this track before, but it blew me away.
10. Old-school, fem punk-ish rock feel. Loud guitar groove, fun vocal duet.
11. Another classic! Fast, jazzy groove: syncopation everywhere, dramatic repeated piano, loud funky punctuations of horns/brass, cooing vocal background. Brilliant break at 2:50. Turn that shit up!!
12. Mid-tempo, colorful jam. A soundtrack for some light-hearted early 90s film?
13. Weird vocal and organ harmonies and eerie ambience combine to make a slightly off-kilter groove. Second half turns trippy/dreamy.
14. A Dots and Loop hit, from their 1997 space-pop days. Lovely, almost whimsical vocal duo, Bossa-ish guitar strumming, bouncey beat. Gorgeous.