Stereolab - 'Interlock'

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Easily the best of the three new singles (or six new tracks if you're downloading).

It's got a sixties Motown beat at the start that soon turns full on disco-funk but with more modern flashes (think: that Fatboy Slim remix of Groove Armada). Really groovy! Laetitia's doing her usual schtick over the top ("What good is all the knowledge we've acquired/ in the face of deep nihilism" etc. etc.)

But it's the only song on which she sounds inspired. The music is definitely channeling Tim Gane's more experimental impulses, in the vein of stuff that normally appears on the tour singles. Much of it sounds like it was put together on a computer. Plenty of machine-like rhythms and block chords that change strictly on the bar. 'Kyberneticka Babicka Pts. 1 & 2' has a proto glam stomp and lush sunshine pop harmony vocals that are looped to create a drone effect. I like the sound of this a lot, but even on the first listen it gets a tad boring by Pt.2. 'I Was A Sunny Rainphase' is better - again it has a 60s pop vibe, but the melody line is against the beat this time and there's a slower, funkier middle eight.

Generally, if you found most of their recent stuff rather cold, you won't like this either. And yes, it sounds like Stereolab.

― Jeff W (zebedee), Wednesday, 24 August 2005 13:06 (twenty years ago)

Currently, you can listen to all the songs here:
scenestars.net/tb7/index.php?autoplay=1

― Jeff W (zebedee), Wednesday, 24 August 2005 13:07 (twenty years ago)

Huh, that's funny, I don't think the Stereolab list has said anything about this! Weird.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 24 August 2005 13:09 (twenty years ago)

You have to go to the official site or Koly for all news these days.

― Jeff W (zebedee), Wednesday, 24 August 2005 13:12 (twenty years ago)

It sounds very nice.

That blummin Babicka track is still goin through my ed.

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 24 August 2005 14:03 (twenty years ago)

Matthew P at fluxblog has uploaded an mp3 of 'I Was A Sunny Rainphase'. The quality is allegedly better than the radio stream I linked to above.

― Jeff W (zebedee), Thursday, 25 August 2005 10:48 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, "Interlock" is great - I came very close to posting that one instead of "Sunny Rainphase" but I figured the latter song was a bit more catchy/accessable. I'm pretty excited to see Stereolab return to, you know, dynamics! The drums sound great - are they using a new drummer, maybe?

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Thursday, 25 August 2005 11:09 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

This "Interlock" single is totally awesome. I think I'll pick up the other two on Tuesday.

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Monday, 3 October 2005 00:41 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...

Yeah this song is still amazing, though the b-side to "Interlock," "Visionary Roadmaps," has become my favorite of the 6 new tunes. I cannot wait for thier new album!

Speaking of which, they're planning on releasing three new 7'''s on March 6th 2k6:

"Whisper Pitch" b/w "Widow Wierdo"
"Excursions into 'oh,a-oh'" b/w "Get A Shot Of The Refrigerator"
"Eye Of The Volcano" b/w "Vodiak"

and they'll be releasing a cd/10'' with all 12 songs from the 7'' series on the same day :) And they're touring next year as well.

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 03:37 (twenty years ago)

wait, I actually red this wrong. The afformentioned singles are being released, on march 7th, as well as this:

Fab Four Suture
Kyberneticka Babicka Pt.1
Interlock
Eye Of The Volcano
Plastic Mile
"Get A Shot Of The Refrigerator"
Visionary Road Maps
Vodiak
Whisper Pitch
Excursions Into "Oh, A-Oh"
I Was A Sunny Rainphase
Widow Wierdo
Kyberneticka Babicka Pt.2

which I'm assuming is being considered their latest studio album. (It's being released on CD and DOUBLE 10'')

That's a bit strange that they're releasing every song on 7''..

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 03:44 (twenty years ago)

Okay okay okay, I just read on the Stereolab forum that this is NOT the new studio album, but they will be doing a short tour to support it, and then they will head to the studio in spring to record the next studio album.

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 03:48 (twenty years ago)

Oh, this is exciting. I love recent Stereolab. Thanks for the great news. :-)

― Myke Weiskopf (Myke Weiskopf), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 04:00 (twenty years ago)

hooray for this.

― Christopher Costello (CGC), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 04:55 (twenty years ago)

i could read stereolab track titles all day. it's kinda sad, but whattaya gonna do?

― brettino's bounce (Da ve Segal), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 05:11 (twenty years ago)

At least one of the summer 7"s I bought was pressed badly off-centre; I didn't take it back for fear that I was the victim of a conceptual joke. Wow, if not flutter.

It's heresy to say this in 'lab circles, but I would quite like to have them all on CD. Fab Four Suture! Those guys!

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 13:18 (twenty years ago)

Wait, so what is this Fab Four thing? A CD of unreleased songs, or a list of all the singles they are releasing? If it's a new CD (whether its new songs or not makes no difference as long as they're new to me) then I'm going to shit myself.

― Lee is Free (Lee is Free), Tuesday, 13 December 2005 23:59 (twenty years ago)

it's a 'compilation' of 6 x 7" singles they've released, three of which are released at the same time, three that have already been and gone

― jim p. irrelevant (electricsound), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 00:01 (twenty years ago)

released this year i should clarify

― jim p. irrelevant (electricsound), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 00:01 (twenty years ago)

does anyone have the high quality "i was a sunny rainphase" to share??

please??

― reo, Wednesday, 14 December 2005 00:12 (twenty years ago)

you can get it here

http://www.toopure.com/stereolab/

― jim p. irrelevant (electricsound), Wednesday, 14 December 2005 00:16 (twenty years ago)

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