Stereolab’s forthcoming Chemical Chords is their first proper album in four years. Wow and flutter. (We’ve decided not to count 2006′s Fab Four Suture compilation, because four years sounds more dramatic, and that way we got to make a bad pun, too.) Have to say, the fact that they’ve been around for almost 20 years at this point makes some of us feel really old. Like, those of us who remember buying Peng! the week it was released in 1992 or driving around in a beat-up Impala and obsessing a cassette copy of Mars Audiac Quintet. Sheesh. All these years later and “Three Women” sounds like Stereolab, though in a sunny, horn-y, strutting late-period way. It’s a decent track, but like much of Laetitia Sadier and Tim Gane and Co’s back catalog, it’ll likely work best nestled into the whole.
No, they’re not reinventing themselves at all, but who can resist Sadier’s lilting French, the brightly-lit guitar, and that comforting Stereolab organ shimmer? The tracklist:
01 “Neon Beanbag”
02 “Three Women”
03 “One Finger Symphony”
04 “Chemical Chords”
05 “The Ecstatic Static”
06 “Valley Hi!”
07 “Silver Sands”
08 “Pop Molecule (Molecular Pop 1)”
09 “Self Portrait with ‘Electric Brain’”
10 “Nous Vous Demandons Pardon”
11 “Cellulose Sunshine”
Chemical Chords is out 8/18 in the UK on Duophonic UHF Disks and 8/19 in the US on 4AD.
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They have the best song titles of any band save Guided by Voices and Cocteau Twins.
Awesome.
Since when has a 12 track album been considered an EP? That’s a long fucking CD. In that respect I loved their Anthology maxi-single that had 40 tracks spread out over 3 CDs.
You’re right, we meant “compilation.” This is what a late flight back from Coachella will do to a person. Fixed.
Dude!
I have just become a member, when I try to download this, it requires user name and pass but nothing happens when i enter them.
Help! I need somebody!
I must confess that I had not been familiar with this band (even after all these years), but this song is definitely great and makes me want to hear more from them!
I see that Amazon has a lot of their CDs used at low prices, but which one should I get as an SL newbie?
very helpfull!! thanks