at a glance...

Hometown: London, England
First recordings: 1991

Personnel:
Tim Gane -guitar, keyboards
Laetitia Sadier -vocals, guitar, keyboards
Mary Hansen -vocals
Morgane Lhote -vocals
Andrew Ramsay -drums, percussion
Duncan Brown -bass
Simon Johns -bass
Dominic Murcott -vibes, marimbas
Rob Mazurek -trumpet
Sean O'Hagan -keyboards, arrangements
John McEntire & Jim O'Rourke -recording and mixing

Related artists:
Broadcast, The Hangovers, My Bloody Valentine, Turn On, Snowpony, Tortoise, High Llamas, The Boo Radleys

Notes:
The formation of Stereolab in the early '90s saw the gathering of musicians from accomplished but largely unknown rock bands. Th' Faith Healers, McCarthy, and the Chills were all adept at mining from the rich earth of dance, psychedelia, funk and minimalism, but it was Stereolab that were able to break through with a loyal audience and maintain a major-label contract. Near-ambient explorations on early recordings like The Groop Played Space Age Bachelor Pad Music gave way to more dance-oriented releases like Transient Random Noise Bursts With Announcements. 1996's Emperor Tomato Ketchup found the group at the height of their powers, with seemingly every stone turned with grace and groove. Stereolab are renowned for Sadier's politically leftist lyrics, but vocals often buried in the swirl of pulsing bass, organs, and heavy percussion are hard to decipher. Quite surprisingly, Stereolab have remained an anomaly, with few notable imitators emerging over the years.

At 72 minutes, Stereolab's Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night asks a lot of the listener. The length is demanding, and there are rarely breaks in the layered and bustling tunes. There are the ususal instruments aplenty: keyboards-of-all-sorts, staccato bass guitar, processed vocals, strings, vibes, horns, you name it. But somehow the sheer length of the album ends up blending all these great sounds and all these songs into a misty cauldron of bubbling potential. Is this potential unrealized? Well, that's not easy to answer.

So let's not get stuck on size, ok? There are not only great individual tunes on Cobra and Phases..., but entire sections to grab and hold onto. "Op Hop Detonation," "Puncture in the Radax Permutation" and "Velvet Water" form a particularly beautiful trio. The plunger drops on the prancing "Op" and repetitive "Hop." I think there are lyrics about revolution or something, but my ears are too busy moving with the rest of my head and body to really pick out anything cohesive. "Puncture in the Radax Permutation" brings the tempo down a hair and sweeps in some contemplative minor keys and chanted words. "Velvet Water" opens with a disjointed minute-long minimalist organ romp Steve Reich would be proud of -- rough and slushy. But the soothing promised by the title is soon delivered: Laetitia Sadier's purring French backed by plodding bassline, looping vibes and echoey guitars gently brings us down from the peaks we've been running around. Ah, so nice.

The production, of course, is beautiful. Exquisite pans, inventive electronics, full but not overblown bass, and even the oft-forgotten highend, all evince the care which went into Cobra and Phases... . Intimidating in size and scope? Sure, but a little editing by the listener isn't too much to ask - what with the revolution and groove and all.

If you like Stereolab, check out:
Stereolab The First Of The Microbe Hunters
The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground and Nico
Mouse On Mars Niun Niggung
Esquivel See It In Sound
Broadcast The Noise Made By People
Tortoise Tortoise
Pink Floyd Atom Heart Mother
The Boo Radleys Giant Steps
Air Moon Safari

-- Aaron Goldweber

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