The future of Stereolab

This seems to be a popular view of Stereolab and not one I subscribe to at all. Their scamper away from the indie disco dancefloor down ever-narrowing corridors of fussy detail and texture mirrors my own shift in tastes, and as a result I've loved most of their records (especially Sound-Dust and the last quarter of everyone's favourite one to knock, ...Milky Night).

That said, an end to Stereolab now, after Mary's tragic death, would seem appropriate, but there are unpleasantly humdrum things like brand identity and paying the mortgage to think about.

On the contrary, they aren't fun enough

Agreed, this is why I sold Dots & Loops which gradually revealed itself to be not much fun at all.

This could be cool. I remember an Autechre remix (of a song I can't recall) that was completely out of the ordinary for them, and very good. Maybe they should hook up with Matmos or something.

Yeah that could have gone further...although like I said I don't think the D&L melodies are quite up to snuff.

Madness! There are some flaccid moments sure, but "Super Falling Star", "Mellotron", "Orgiastic", etc... I ask you?

Am I still the only person who actually thinks Emperor Tomato Ketchup has been the least durable record so far?

Laetitia may be impatient with fans -- after a hiatus they produce Sound Dust which is such a good record -- so consistent (i love roughly every second song) -- having heard loops and milky i say it is their best album after tomato, perhaps the culmination of that direction in their sound

that tv program Cold Feet had a millenium special episode that reprised cul de sac perfectly, since the drift/ island/ end metaphor worked perfectly for the 'end of time' hoop-la surrounding 0/0/2000 and the possibilities of ths show drifting, out to sea or beached, which it sure ended up doing, even if they didn't think they were drifting then

i liked those promo photos of stereolab, with the power poles vertically alligned with the pictures perspective -- like harry lime as the giant (film) wheel comes to a stop over occupied vienna, a snapshot, on the road to the castle or back ? waiting for the flood ? (i don't stereolab are misanthropic, the fans tiny dots or dust, as if viewed from harry's perspective)

i like this album art, the indication of a peak, however insular, an acknowledgement by the band that they may well be too disconnected from their audience yet wishing to take the chicago computer collaborations to a decent conclusion .. i bet they knew sound dust was make or break time, if not for the group then at least for that sound, which surely they got right on this album tens times more so than on the two albums seemingly leading in that direction, validating for me those experiments along the way -- good on them for acknowledging the alienating potential, yet admitting that this was the peak of that stereolab at least

yes, i think they will go looking for other peaks, somewhere else (Lionel Stander did get to work in hollywood again, after all)

maybe the boo-boos will have to go and a new angle for the lyrics taken with both Marie's terrible departure and the band learning the hard lessons of producing something so good by their own standards even if these didn't meet the demands of their audience -- the artistic journey has been completed -- that concept in light of Marie's death is almost horribly prophetic in a spooky new way, beyond their worst dreams i imagine (is Polanski a real king midas of horror and despair ? dark forces ?) (i do not wish to trivialise _anything_ in saying this)

of course the album + art stands on it's own feet as beautiful music with a variety of sentiment -- most of the band can return to the main land and pursue some other groove -- after a presumably respectful period of meditation and change of trade-name

"hiatus"

http://www.stereolab.co.uk/news/

Perhaps a necessary thing, really.

diminishing returns for a while now

Question: is the future of Stereolab any different than the past of Stereolab?

:( At least Chemical Chords 2 will still come out (and I'm glad I saw them this last tour)

yeah, me too! their show last fall was wonderful. still, if anyone deserves a break, it's probably them. they've never gone more than a year or two without an album over the past 20 years, have they?

they've never gone more than a year or two without an album over the past 20 years, have they?

There were a couple multi-year gaps in between Sound-Dust, Margerine Eclipse, and Chemical Chords though I think the box set comes in there somewhere.

yeah, maybe i'm just thinking that there are always various collections coming out in between records -- never seemed like they disappeared for any significant amount of time.

They were great when I saw them live last year. Like, really great, as much fun as the first time I saw them. If this is one of those permananent breaks then they are going out with a bang, at least as far as live music is concerned. I don't think I have any of their albums from the last ten years, but live performance is at least as important to me.

My thoughts on seeing them in September -- if that's the last time I'll ever see them, then the last song I ever saw them do was a great version of "Jenny Ondioline."

new single!!

https://stereolab.bandcamp.com/album/fed-up-with-your-job-constant-and-uniform-movement-unknown

nice!

but man $7 US dollars for two digital songs is uh, a lot. i'll wait for inevitable Switched On 6 in fifteen years lol

how much was the 7" (he asks thru gritted teeth)

nvm it's up on duophonic for £14 + £6 shipping, lmao no thanks

xps it's also available in the itunes store for under $3

Nice!

And I love that they maintain THAT photo on their Bandcamp page.

damn i like this more than anything i heard from the album but latter day stereolab is still too comfortably out of touch to excite me (price also reflective of that).

Seeing them live for the first time a week from today, so stoked!

Me too! I lived them for decades but never got around to seeing them

*loved

that is a huge tour

What have folks thought of the tour?

I saw them recently thought and thought they were the best they've been since reuniting. They were much more adventurous than I've seen them, jamming out noise sections with Joe on keys using some sort heavy fuzz device. Andy is always in the pocket like lint drumming all manner of wonky grooves, sometimes switching over to operate a drum machine while Laetitia queues up electro beats and Tim keeps strumming away furiously.

Replicating the sounds of whatever particular vintage synths and keyboards the songs were actually recorded with has always seemed to be a challenge for them when performing live and I think they've managed to find solutions. Part of that is probably just being smart with the set list, which was great. Highlight for me was "Cybele's Reverie." It's the very first Stereolab song I heard and I've always wanted to hear them play it live.

They all looked like they were having a blast, too, Laetitia in particular.

excited to see them on Friday. I've seen them a couple times at outdoor venues (19 years apart) but never in a club.

One week ago tonight, I saw them at BK steel, the first time since 97, and before that time i saw them every single time they came to NYC since 94. I would say that during their 90s run, they were reliable for a pulsating analog synth wall of sound that one would feel suffusing your entire being, but which is perhaps understandably absent nowadays. I did miss it, but it was still good to see 'em. Although I have listened to ETK a lot in recent years, I didn't recognize any song from therein other than "Cybele's" ; it was not only a kick to see Gane perpetrate his signature headshake, but to see Sadler addressing the audience, playing the trombone and lightly bopping around the stage.

Think I've seen every US tour since '93 (though foolishly skipped the second night of them opening for Unrest that time), and thought the Brooklyn Steel show I saw (first night) was fantastic (and seemed like everyone else in the place felt the same, great energy)

They’re not switching it up much...Same setlist every night, even for back-to-back shows in the same city. Only thing I'm a bit bummed about this time around. But I'm really looking forward to seeing them, as always!

it was not only a kick to see Gane perpetrate his signature headshake

Always urgent and key.

Unless I'm very wrong I have seen every tour except the ETK one, which still annoys me to this day. (I missed Prolapse for fuck's sake.) Roll on two weeks from now.

Thought the 2019 tour was A-grade, lots of songs I wanted to hear and a focus on keyboard drone, motorik, etc (all of the aspects that make them interesting)…2022 (?) tour was way closer to mediocre, not as many songs I wanted to hear and a heavier focus on their pop elements (also, the sound at the venue was atrocious)…going into this one open minded but I’m not 100% head over heels over the new album (even though it’s good) so my expectations are tempered.

2019 was indeed great. I got to hear 'Crest,' 'Brakhage,' 'Double Rocker,' and 3 (three!!) songs from Mars Audiac Quintet.

ha, I preferred 2022 because they did so many obscure b-sides and deep cuts, and I'd heard all the hits plenty of times before

two major 10+ improv rave-ups in philly ------ A+++++

seeing 'em next week, can't wait — they've never been anything less than great a the other shows I've caught. actually excited to hear the new stuff, too!

man, they sounded *amazing* last night.

Shoot, even the small clip you shared on Bluesky sounded great! Really wish I'd been able to catch them this tour.

yeah, just great ensemble playing throughout — they really seemed like they were having fun up there (which has not always been the case in my experience).

Yeah you can notice when they're not fully there, as it were. So I'm glad that things appear to be better there! A week to go for my show!

terrific in portland last night, only seen these reunion gigs but this was my favorite of the three, had the most verve and best sound. they seemed stoked on the new stuff, i'm whatever on the album but it came across very well live. i wouldn't be too sure about 'no pulsating synth wall' either! poster mentioned up thread as lacking these days. the noise is maybe not to the extent of the 90s but i'm glad they're diving into that part of their sound more this time around

i noticed the keyboardist had a booklet of sheet music, i had fun imagining stereolab as a working band of the classic sort- gigsman introduces himself, gets his charts, three sets until close then the bandleader has to leave for topeka or some shit immediately after. crystal ballroom really retains its dance hall aura also

I was also at the Portland show and can confirm it was awesome. They seem very happy to be up there, Laetitia in particular is a real goofball and her joy was infectious. She really plays a lot of guitar and trombone now!

The set was largely new album focused, and I love the new album so I was pleased.

I'm casual friends with the new(ish) bass player, we chatted after the show and he said the overall tour mood is very up, they are very pleased to be touring on a new record. Hopefully we just have Stereolab back in our lives from now on!

A friend took me to this for night one in Brooklyn and it was also obvious how happy Laetitia was to be performing. Excellent show all around.

This year’s tour was indeed as good as everyone’s saying, right up there with 2019 and leagues above 2022. They’ve been playing the exact same setlist (give or take a song or so) this entire tour, which I’m surprised they’re able to make seem like they’re overly happy to do night after night — certainly makes it easier to prepare for but for me playing the same songs every night wouldn’t take long to become a drag.

I think having a fixed or mostly fixed set list has been their approach for a long time. I imagine there are lots of songs that are not easy to just pull out on a whim because the arrangements get pretty tricky.

They used to switch up the order of set lists from gig to gig, and rotate a few songs in and out of the setlist here and there. At least, that's what I remember from the multiple SF stops in years past.

SF was killer last night! Everyone was in such a happy mood. Smiles all around from the band and the crowd. :)

Excellent! Can't wait for tonight for sure. (Anyone else going this evening?)

Who else will be at the Los Angeles show on Sunday?

Annnnd new single!

https://stereolab.bandcamp.com/album/cloud-land-flashes-in-the-afternoon

is this the tour single I didn’t buy from the merch table at the DC show because I’m not buying vinyl anymore?

(got a snazzy green dots and loops shirt)

yes, unsold copies of this tour single will be on the webshop & some retailers February 13th

And per the posts from last month, said tour single now available digitally, etc. It's fun!

The 'Lab were incredible tonight. They played "Simple Headphone Mind" which was a nice surprise too

omg nice

I like the newest single more than anything on the LP!!

It's nice that they still save a lot of their best stuff for random limited run singles and whatnot.

I was just digging some random Aluminium Tunes song earlier tonight

I really enjoyed seeing them in December - a friend was there too and I bumped into him outside and he didn't think much of it. too much new stuff maybe? I didn't mind that at all because I'd seen them a couple of years ago when they played a lot of old stuff so I guess I'd got that out of my system. I was v happy they played Cybele's Reverie at the end though

I saw them in '19 in Vicar Street, Dublin. They seemed quite stiff. I felt like there was a bit of divorced couples energy going on too. I wasnt too keen on the setlist either. I guess they hadnt played in 10 years at that point. I never saw them in the 90s so Id no reference point so I thought they might be this band who sound good on record but a bit low energy live.

They were unreal tonight though. It was mostly stuff from the latest album but thats ok by me as I think its really good. "Melodie is a wound" in particular got really fleshed out and my ears were ringing beautifully afterwards. Yeah, I love Stereolab. What a great fucking band.

Kudos for them to coming to Limerick. Most bands couldnt be arsed

that's awesome - the only time I saw them was in the late 90's and I felt like I had already missed their prime, lol

Yeah "Jenny Ondioline" and "Space age batchelor pad muzak" was my entry point to them so I do wish theyd dip into the early stuff every so often (they did play "peng 33" tonight though) but when you see the crazy chord shapes Tim is playing on the guitar for "A flower called nowhere" you get why the old stuff might seem a bit boring to them now

I sadly had to miss their most recent tour, but the previous tour went very hard on the deep cuts, including a bunch of earlier songs I'd never heard them play live before. I really loved it, but I saw a lot of people grumble because they didn't do enough of the hits.

I dont think its a coincidence that they played "Simple Headphone Mind" because John Kelly plays it on his radio show over here a lot.