Stereolab - Fab Four Suture

Genre rock Publisher Too Pure External Links Official Stereolab Website Official Too Pure Website

What to make of this collected set of seven-inch records? One half released previous, one half now. Both halves explore Stereolab's classical pop by way of drone, fitting the pop element into droning structures, cleverly referencing the block puzzle cover art purposely or not. Two halves awkwardly repositioned, and placed together into some oddly shaped whole. It's got its concepts down, let's give it that.

A studied approach informs the instrumentation. Precise keyboards and nifty guitar lines flirt along the smooth euro drone of Laetitia Sadier's voice. The rhythm is steady if not driving. Some songs even skitter. The whole resembles a detached Fiery Furnaces. The instrumentation relies on the same technique of followed vocal leads and uses similar tones in a much more rigid fashion. The concepts differ, the mediums do not. Tones too, are more precise and labored.

The effect here however is detached and barring the nifty line or melodic trick scattered about the tunes, leaves the listener at best, amused. "Vodiak" sparks a bit of paranoid urgency but harmonic tricks take the remaining tunes only so far. The musicianship is hardly developed enough to overwhelm or even wow and it remains too rigid to sooth.

Vocals use a similar pattern; droning melodies, though often pretty, rarely touch emotionally and leave a general sense of ennui. The words, repeated phrases, often abstract and weighted, pair discordantly with the melodies. The lyrics plod about the melodic space, leadening the airy nature of the songs. Isolated and anxious themes belie the unwavering, melodic drone. The words are fractured and almost foreign in tone but get their point across clearly. These are paranoid times so our pop music is too. Great for repeat listens.

There are enough new musical tricks to keep a Stereolab fan happy. But is the rest of the population going to be amused? Probably not. A droning reminder of ones own isolation isn't really going to do much to inspire.