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reviews 2006
2006-05-19
History of Czech puppet theatre recalled (extract)
interview
Stereolab explain Czech influence on new track
The legendary Czech animator Jiri Trnka inspired my next guest, Tim Gane, the leader of the English band Stereolab. The track which opens and closes their new album Fab Four Suture is called Kyberneticka Babicka (Cybernetic Granny) after a classic early 1960s film by Trnka. When Stereolab played in Prague earlier this week, Tim told me a bit about the film, and why it had inspired him.
source:
Radio Praha (Prague)
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2006-05-13
en français
concert review
When i arrived at 17.00, Stereolab was finishing their soundcheck. Martin was preparing the merchandising desk, and after waiting 1 hour, the band came outside to talk a bit with fans and the manager of Radikal.
The doors opened at 19.00, the main part of the public will came between 19.30 and 8.15.
source:
email
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2006-03-30
Treading the same ground, but with a different pair of shoes
album review
Fab Four Suture reminds me of Talking Heads’ movie Stop Making Sense. At that point in time, the Heads were well into their career, and their legion of fans waited with bated breath to find out where they would go next. It’s also important to consider the massive rupture between the earlier, art-rock punk material they played and the Afro-beat/disco-funk hybrid one finds on albums like Remain in Light and Fear of Music. However, the comparison works if and only if we consider David Byrne’s self interviews. At one point, Byrne asks himself in a very comical fashion whether or not the band will tour or produce any more albums. Byrne, in his typical nerdy, dilated pupil fashion, replies “when we have something new to say to an audience, we’ll tour again.” Despite the humor found in his self-interviews, it’s a worthy question that any band or musician should ask themselves when embarking on a new album and a new tour. It’s the equivalent of saying “well, our name is out there, so we don’t need to flood the market with continuous releases, or else people will get tired of us, and we’ve already DONE THAT. So where to next?”
source:
transformonline.com
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2006-03-28
Los Angeles, Henry Ford Theater, March 28, 2006
concert review
This was my third time seeing Stereolab and my first since they were supporting "First of the Microbe Hunters". They've been through a few times since, but played inconvenient venues (All Tomorrow's Parties, Cochella, etc.). My wife had never seen them so I was really excited for her, knowing already what a great live act they are.
For anyone who hasn't seen them, they play with a speed and intensity otherwise lacking from their (sometimes) detached, arty recordings. The beautiful songs are just as gorgeous live, while the self-conscience experiments that seem a little sterile on disc really come alive on stage. "Interlock" and "Widow Weirdo" (despite its beautiful intro) are two of my least favorites from the new album, but they worked great live. "I Feel The Air (Of Another Planet)", one of my least favorite recordings in their immense catalog, sounded great, with live drumming on the second act where as on the recording there is only synth and voice.
source:
stereolab forum
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2006-03-25
Dallas Show
concert review
WOW! I just now got back from the show and They were great. Laetitia was very beautiful and sung great. Everyone played their part to the fullest and sound great. The Bass player sounded liked a bad-ass with his heavy, well prepared riffs, Rocking us all to the very core. They also had Beautiful, mind-altering visuals in the Background of images ranging from black and white footage from the 40's and 50's of demonstrations of light through prisms. To 60's-70's 8mm films of colors and shapes.
Even through I had started a fab four structure bashing thread, I must admit, the songs really grew on me and I loved hear them live. whisper pitch was especially beautiful.
source:
stereolab forum
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2006-03-25
Nokia Theatre
concert review
Wow, they really sounded just so great. I bought a couple of t-shirts and the tour single. They weren't selling the 10" or the puzzle which kind of bummed me. But, man they sounded so damned good. It's a seated theatre, but early on Leatitia commanded everyone to stand, which I think most people obeyed for most of the show. I didn't see anybody there that I know, which puzzeled me. I did see Martin, but only on stage and I didn't get to talk with him...he wasn't running the merch table. Yay Stereolab, they were great!
Sam and Archer were really nice as well.
source:
stereolab forum
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2006-03-24
laetitia's black bra
concert review
It's pretty amazing to see the growth in confidence in the performing of Laetitia. From the DVD from oscillons from the anti-suns’ live songs, she often seems awkward and “geeky”, but tonight she seemed very at ease and comfortable, coming off as quite the suave, smooth entertainer.
Probably 40% of the songs were from Fab Four Suture.
Seemed like many of the background vocals supplied by Mary Hansen from some of the older songs were reproduced by a synthesizer.
source:
stereolab forum
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2006-03-24
8 out of 10
album review
It’s undeniable that Stereolab belong in the indie rock pantheon of legends. While developing an unmistakable sound, Stereolab has also touched on a staggering number of style and influences: European pop, Krautrock, bossa nova, synthpop, avant-jazz, IDM, twee, noise drone, bachelor pad music, amongst so many others. At their peak, around “Emperor Tomato Ketchup,” their music was both classic and futurist. However, that was some time ago. A few ho-hum releases, changing tastes and familiarity have made Stereolab seem less innovative and fresh, and more like holdovers from 90s indie. The question isn’t even so much whether their releases are good anymore as much as whether they are relevant at all. Despite 2004’s “Margarine Eclipse” being a pretty decent album, I don’t know anyone – even fans of Stereolab’s older material – who really listens to it regularly. Well, I’m not going to as far as make a statement as dramatic as saying ‘Stereolab is back!,’ but, well, yeah, they kind of are.
source:
kevchino.com
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2006-03-24
Austin concert, and the Stereolab Girl
concert review
Damn, I still have a blissful smile on my face almost 24 hours later.
I've listened to Stereolab since 97, but this was my first concert. Absolutely brilliant, and I'll go again. I was expecting a static show, but I didn't think they were at all. And I agree, that Laetitia went from "geeky" to suave & sophisticated (and, oooooooooooh, I love a woman who plays trombone).
source:
stereolab forum
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2006-03-24
Austin Impressions
concert review
Hi folks,
well it's been over a week, but I wanted to give my impressions of the show in Austin on March 24th. I was planning on going to Texas to visit family the week after, but when I saw Stereolab was playing I totally changed my plans and hoped my family and friends would understand the sudden change, you gotta have your priorities in order! So I asked my friend Lauren to go with me. We saw the groop at the same venue, La Zona Rosa, where we saw them for the first time in 2001. It's like a giant warehouse type of club with concrete floors and a big stage for the all-ages big shows, and a little bar in the back for the adults where they serve decent beer (in bottles no less), but you have to pour them into a plastic cup to go back up front. It has a capacity of 1,200 people, and I think it was sold out. No ins and outs either, we were wishing we would have walked around the block first!
source:
stereolab forum
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2006-03-17
Stereolab @ Town Hall: Night One
concert review
After a day of chaos walking around New York trying to avoid vomiting St. Patrick's Day revelers (is it me or does it get worse every year?), it was a welcome retreat to see one of my favorite bands of all time, Stereolab, in the comfy confines of Town Hall.
Stereolab is one of the bands I discovered in college, and I'm a firm believer that the music you listen to between the ages of 18-22 is the music you'll listen to the rest of your life. It explains my affection for 90s BritPop. So Stereolab is probably in the Top 5 of artists who I have the most CDs of. Checking my collection, it's 19 CDs. Damn.
source:
Chris' Music Snobbery
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2006-03-17
live at Town Hall
concert review
Rock and Roll lacks an adequate definition. Historians of the musical form always debate whether or not it is a specific type of music with its own conventions and stylistic nuances or if it’s an attitude. Those who hold that it’s an entirely different type of music than, say, classical, jazz, and blues, stress the fact that the “rock” rhythm stresses the backbeat and simplistic melodies / harmonies. But why can’t it also be an attitude? Those who argue that it’s an attitude stress the etymology of the term “rock and roll.” The very terminology has its roots in African American slang for “sex.” There is a sensual attitude at work behind the very rhythm, and this attitude derives its power from the very performance of rock music. Without this sensuous attitude, one would lose the affective charge rock carries. There’d be no pelvic thrusts, nor orgasmic bursts of vocal emotion. Embedded in what it means to “rock out” is an idea of throwing caution to the wind; setting aside convention and letting spontaneity rule the day.
source:
transformonline
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2006-03-16
northampton show
concert review
wow is all I have to say, and this is my fifth time seeing them.
Eye of The Volcano had to be the high point (what a brilliant song) and also Excursions...but bringing out Pack yr Romantic Mind, Mountain, and of all things, We're Not Adult Oriented was the icing.
I laughed out loud several times during the show because I was just so amazed at how great they were.
The new album grows on you, hardcore.
Hearing the songs done live was the final nail. *Click* Brilliant ;
oh - and did I mention Cybele's Reverie sounded the best this time out of all the times I've heard them play it? They were on fire guys. Don't miss them. Don't ;)
source:
stereolab forum
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2006-03-15
impressions of the montreal show
concert review
It happened on wednesday, March 15th '06, at a place called La Tulipe.
This was the first time I saw a Stereolab show, even though I am a long-time fan and could have seen them before if it weren't of circumstances and laziness.
Me and my best friend came one hour early, since we had to find good seats. None of us enjoys being squeezed in a crowd, and both of us were tired from a hard day's work, so we were happy to see that not much people was there when we arrived.
source:
stereolab forum
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2006-03-14
LIVE: Stereolab Are Most Definitely Fab
concert review
March 14, 2006
If you had wandered into the Phoenix Tuesday, you might have noticed a crowd that was a little different from the usual anonymous, dress-alike scenesters who seem to populate shows around these parts.
There were older, nicely-dressed couples and tattooed punks sipping bottles of 50. A cluster of preppy guys with smart haircuts spilled beer on my shoes. Stereolab fans are certainly not a homogeneous bunch. They even seem to attract all the Francophone people in Toronto. One enthusiastic, heavily-accented punter grabbed my arm at the bar and gestured helplessly at the stage during their set. "I love dis band!" he crowed. My sentiments, exactly.
source:
chart attack
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2006-03-13
6.8 out of 10?
album review
Stereolab usually split opinions down the line. Personally, my thoughts on the band change from album to album. Stereolab's 10th full-length, “Fab Four Suture” is a collection of 7inch singles that the band have been issuing since last year. This album is simply Stereolab sounding like Stereolab, there is no huge departure to their formula.
source:
comfort comes
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2006-03-12
Memories of the Detroit Show
concert review
Stereolab played at The Majestic...quite an unusual place...part of a building that includes The Majestic Theatre,The Magic Stick(another band hall..Broadcast has played there...combined with a pool hall),a Bowling Alley AND a CAFE'/Food Establishment.The line was pretty well backed up so we relaxed and had a few glasses of wine in the CAFE'.After going into the theatre...I went over to talk with Martin and purchase a t-shirt(and later a single.....passed on the puzzle ????? Wish I would have bought one now).The Espers started playing. I enjoyed them...esp. the Blue Oyster Cult cover ,which they transformed into a lovely folk psych version.We were up pretty close to the stage to the right of Laetitia.They started their Set with COME PLAY.... Wow! They really sounded full and tight this time around.I liked their duophonic jackets...very nice.Hearing them play MOUNTAIN....well.....I turned and kissed MY girlfriend...Hee Hee...sorry if THAT annoyed anyone!!! The crowd was VERY vocal and the GROOP was appreciative and put on an incredible performance.There was one song where they just rock out at the end ...Laetitia holding her tambourine in front of her(song anyone?)...the song just SO powerful...the crowd just burst into applause......What a moment! There was an older song they played(sorry I'm terrible with remembering titles) that went O O O O O O...I was floored...They nailed it! BLISS! No second encore.....They sounded great!
source:
stereolab forum
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2006-03-11
Stereolab brings complicated beats to Vic
concert review
It's so hard to replicate solid studio recordings on the live stage, especially with a sound as layered and complex as what Stereolab produces so effortlessly.
At a sold-out Saturday night show, the ever-morphing London-based group made it happen on a simple stage at Chicago's Vic Theater.
source:
daily southtown
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2006-03-10
stereolab @ 1st Ave Rocked
concert review
I was front and center for the Lab @ 1st Ave. Great show! The band seemed to be having some fun. Didn't recognize the bass player. Looked like a new guy. Awesome set list with a few suprises like Pack YR Romantic Mind, You Used To Call Me Sadness, We're Not Adult Orientated, and Miss Modular.
source:
stereolab forum
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2006-03-09
Rating: NNN
album review
Like many Stereolab fans, I was beginning to think the group had lost the plot, but it appears that the recording regime involved in focusing on a series of 7-inch singles rather than a new album has brought back some of the old creative spark. Unfortunately, the runs were so limited that the singles often vanished before most people knew they were available. So it's awfully swell of them to conveniently package up all the tracks on the Fab Four Suture CD, which also comes as a double 10-inch EP specifically designed with collector nerds in mind. Not every tune is a winner, but there's a certain northern-soulish charm to Interlock, and the bouncy bloopery of Vodiak is enjoyably wonky. Their next studio album proper is due out in early 2007, but let's hope they keep releasing singles in the meantime.
Stereolab return to nice-up the Phoenix Tuesday (March 14).
source:
now toronto.com
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2006-03-09
A bottomless creation
interview
Stereolab makes us gift of a new album and a concert. Discussion with Tim Gane, one of the founders of this formation which crosses the tests and time with a renewed grace.
source:
voir
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2006-03-08
Rating 6.6 (out of 10)
album review
Let's talk about reductionism, shall we? There is a notion that one way to find truth is to peer ever closer at things until you start noticing their constituent parts, and breaking them up into groups of increasingly smaller parts until you get to the one part that doesn't break. The thinking goes that whatever you can discern about this smallest essence is the most basic, universal truth about whatever it is you're looking at: Think sub-atomic particles in physics, or anytime you hear someone talk about their fave "desert island" records. These are supposed represent the prime, most important kernels of our musical tastes, and if you remove them from the equation, we're fundamentally different.
source:
pitchfork
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2006-03-08
10 out of 10
album review
Though it's actually a compilation of six limited 7s they've been putting out since last year, this is album of the week. Pharrell would agree, loving the 'Lab as he does, calling it the best fellatio music ever cos of, quote, "the fucking chord changes", but while I like Neptunes/N.E.R.D., I've never got into Stereolab - until now.
source:
stereolab forum
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2006-03-08
Stereolab - Fab Four Suture
album review
Given their knack for artistic engineering, it's tempting to call Stereolab designers first and musicians a close second. It's compellingly strange that Stereolab's avant-leaning sound, when broken down into its component pieces, is built largely from some of the most utilitarian and accessible pop of previous generations.
source:
city pages
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2006-03-07
Wow, what a show!... truly awesome...
concert review
Have been a long time fan but have never seen them live and they were amazing. The setlist was similar to the SF shows...I cannot believe they played Mountain AND Cybele's Reverie!! - probably my 2 favorite songs... what are the odds?!?
source:
stereolab forum
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2006-03-07
don't mess with expectations
album review
The latest release from arty indie rockers Stereolab is a collection of singles pushed together for fans' convenience until their next long-player, but the songs here feel as though they were meant to be together. Of course, Stereolab haven't changed a whole lot over the years so that shouldn't be too surprising. Fab Four Suture boasts all the signature elements of their sound — droning keyboards, deceptively rhythmic percussion and Laetitia Sadier's stoned-out monotone. They take it up a notch with a couple of dancefloor-friendly groovers, most notably "Excursions Into 'Oh, A-Oh,'" but for the most part this is a consistent record that gives fans exactly what they expect. Then again, when you've perfected a winning formula the way that Stereolab has, it's best not to mess with expectations.
source:
chart attack
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2006-03-06
7 (out of 10)
album review
Words like “introspective” and “heart-baring” are rarely used to describe Stereolab’s music. But then there’s the last minute of “Whisper Pitch”, the eighth track on their new album Fab Four Suture.
source:
pop matters
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2006-03-06
2.5 out of 5
album review
Stereolab are the art-pop equivalent of Busta Rhymes -- i.e., Nineties luminaries who've been coasting for a while now. Their tenth album adds six new songs to six singles released last year, but for the most part, Fab Four Suture is just another plush collage of technicolor lounge balladry, cheesy Eurojazz and Laetitia Sadier's chanteuse-y politico observations, with the gurgly keyboards pulling more weight than the half-baked tunes.
source:
rolling stone
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2006-03-04
Filmore last night
concert review
It really was a fantastic show I thought. First, Laetitia, oh my. I really wish I was able to bring my camera. She was very sexy and beautiful. Wearing this tight fitting black shirt and skirt, swaying around to the music, motioning with her arms. Just about the most beautiful I've ever seen her.
source:
stereolab forum
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2006-03-02
Stereolab's Fab Four Suture
album review
In the fall of last year the mighty Stereolab released a series of three limited edition seven inches featuring new songs from the band. Quickly selling out, the band made plans to release another series of seven inch singles in the spring of 2006.
source:
first coast news
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2006-03-02
Gigantic show
concert review
sorry it's taken me a while to post.....
the sf show on thursday night was amazing!
source:
stereolab forum
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2006-03-01
Sublime stereo headstock.
album review
In the headstock journalism it is done often with difficulty concerning the term ' artistic progressie '. Oftewel: a link which has found niche in headstock music and is sound subtly continues crystallise on albums which are almost griezelig constantly of quality, idleness is blamed.
source:
kindamuixk.net
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2006-03-01
great show
concert review
Great show as always at the Detroit Bar. The crowd was rowdy and super-enthusiatic. They opened with Miss Modular, played lots of newies incl. Vodiak, Eye of the Volcano, Excursions into Oh, a oh (which Laetitia called "Excursions into something something"), and I was a Sunny Rainphase. They also played Mountain, Cybele's Reverie (which blew the roof off the place), Vonal Declosion, and ended with an extended version of the mighty John Cage Bubblegum.
source:
stereolab forum
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2006-03-01
costa mesa show
concert review
Got back down to San Diego last night after the show at about 4 a.m. Just got off work, I am exhausted, so I apologize if my post seems shotty. Loved the show. Loved all the new songs. The venue is great because it is so small.
source:
stereolab forum
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2006-03-01
3 out of 5 stars
album review
Stereolab's rhinestone stud-spangled sound and its deliberately orchestrated air of fabrication have always suggested to my ears an astonishingly accurate imitation of what The Beatles might've sounded like if they'd composed the soundtrack to Olivia Newton-John's Xanadu instead of ELO.
source:
slant magazine
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2006-02-20
Stereolab Still Pushing Boundaries After 15 Years
interview
It's a month before Stereolab's North American tour and the band haven't yet begun rehearsals, a fact that draws a nervous chuckle from co-founder Tim Gane. The guitarist already has enough performance anxiety without throwing concerns about lack of preparation into the mix.
"I'm not the biggest fan of performing live," he admits, before putting a more optimistic spin on the issue. "But once I'm playing and can sort of forget where I am, it's good."
source:
chart attack
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