Stereolab - Chemical Chords
Artist: Stereolab
Album: Chemical Chords
Label: 4AD
The best description of Stereolab that I ever heard came out of a Rock Hound music guide I owned in middle school. “Stereolab somehow makes songs that work, out of sounds that don’t” (very loose quotation, as I have lost that guide for many years). And this is how I have often approached them. I wonder, though, if my idea of them should shift. In recent albums the orchestration is tidier, the instruments are more organic (horns abound in Margerine Eclipse, strings draping in each corner of this album), track lengths are shorter, and the lyrics are fuller. In some ways this is good: song structures more in line with pop music (which I’m a sucker for), a fuller range of sounds that makes these songs really engaging to the ear, and soft lyrics that shift with each moment. For these reasons, I really enjoy this album. Another part of me misses the long, droning, otherworldly, beeping, repetitive, and often overwhelming songs from their classic albums. I realize there will never be another Transient Random Noise Bursts with Announcements, and that makes me sad.
So how can I decide if this album is a hit? The Stereolab litmus: It must have been in 2000 when I first went to their show in a small club in Tempe, Arizona. I was in the front row, and they performed songs that I would play on-repeat for years to come (“John Cage Bubblegum” will always make me think of that night). It is the tempo I remember most, and what makes me most excited about Stereolab. Somehow the tempo shifts when they play. A steady, droning songs picks up, and the song doesn’t fall apart, and my heart beats faster. Then the song picks up, and the song doesn’t fall apart, and my heart beats faster. Then the song picks up, and the song doesn’t fall apart, and my heart beats faster. And suddenly the song is spinning around, and I don’t care that it is now fifteen minutes long (I was not on anything, by the way, so just chill). Can I imagine this fervor on their new album? Yes. The songs are shorter and steadier—it’s true—but my heart still beats faster, and for this reason, I think this album works. I have been waiting for this album for a while, and I am satisfied. Yay.
Stereolab – Valley Hi!
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This song has that special ability to engage different emotional aspects at the same time. Consider the first few moments. The solid, deep beat behind makes a very cool beginning and provides encouraging strength and bounce. The prominent high guitar picking is sad and sweet. The softer keys in the background are constant and steady and follow the calming quality of Laeticia Sadier’s voice. Though song is short and quickly swerves from this moment into something different, the song as a whole maintains this ability to suspend many tones.
Stereolab – Nous Vous Demandons Pardon
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One reason I love Stereolab is their way of building songs. Play this song and count out sixteen steady beats, and then start over. Each time your start over a new element is added until the song is in full motion. It is like they give you an overture of the sounds before beginning.
For more information, check out the band’s site or their myspace. And buy this album.
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