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Is the sound of Stereolab's Moogs, electric keyboards, and strummed guitars starting to infiltrate mainstream pop? Or is the band itself getting continually better at its electronic bubblegum grooves? Whatever the reason, each Stereolab album is that much catchier than the one before. The music arrives sounding like it's been in your head for years. And some of it may well have been: the occasional trumpet blasts might as well have come from an old Beach Boys album.
While the Beach Boys made their mark by topping their lush pop with words of sadness and disillusionment, Stereolab graces a warm analog pulse with soft-but-icy female vocals (in French and English) that comment on stagnation, aimlessness and the pointlessness of capitalist life. "Brakhage" finds that voice repeating "We need so damn/Many things/To keep our stupid/Lives going" over what may be the happiest pop groove in history. On "The Flower Called Nowhere" Stereolab sings of "the stagnant mass" in between chipper interjections of la la las over a 6/8 pulse, while the 17-minute "Refractions in the Plastic Pulse" sounds like PET SOUNDS as remixed by Tortoise.
Recorded at Idful Music Corp., Chicago, Illinois and Academy of St. Martin In The Street, Dusseldorf, Germany.
Producers: John McEntire, Andi Toma, Stereolab.
Personnel: Mary Hansen (vocals); Rebecca McFaul, Poppy Branders, Shelly Weiss (strings); Ross Reed, Dave Crawford, Jeb Bishop, Paul Mertens (brass); Jan St. Werner (horns); Sean O'Hagan (piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Farfisa); Xaver Fischer (piano); John McEntire (synthesizer, vibraphone, marimba, percussion); Douglas McCombs (acoustic bass); Andi Toma (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Andi Toma; Stereolab; John McEntire.
Recording information: Academy Of St. Martin In The Street, Düsseldorf (03/1997-04/1997); Idful Misuc Corp., Chicago, IL (03/1997-04/1997).
Unknown Contributor Roles: Andy Ramsay; Richard Harrison; Morgane Lhote; Laetitia Sadier; Tim Gane .
Stereolab includes: Laetitia Sadier (vocals); Tim Gane (guitar); Mary Hansen, Richard Harrison, Morgane Lhote, Andrew Ramsay.
Additional personnel: Rebecca McFaul, Shelley Weiss, Poppy Branders, Maureen Loughnane (strings); Paul Mertens, Dave Max Crawford, Jeb Bishop, Ross Reed (brass); Sean O'Hagan (piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Farfisa organ); Xavier "Fischfinger" Fischer (piano); John McEntire (synthesizer, percussion, vibraphone, marimba); Douglas McCombs (acoustic bass); Andi Toma (electronic percussion, sound effects); Jan St. Werner (sound effects, insect horns).
Rolling Stone (10/2/97, p.54) - 3.5 Stars (out of 5) - "...moving ever further away from the one-chord drone mesh of its early days....DOTS AND LOOPS fleshes out its rhythms with a range of hybridizations....Amazing stuff..." Spin (11/97, p.144) - 8 (out of 10) - "...DOTS AND LOOPS trip up its relentless groove with finely textured tracks that seem to float in place and space....It's a less blissed-out journey, but their most audacious music." Entertainment Weekly (9/26/97, p.78) - "...Cynics may dismiss the band's mix of smoothed-out sambas, limpid lullabies, and dreamy drones as highbrow Muzak, but you don't need a degree in musicology or semiotics to fall under the spell of these seductive melodies." - Rating: A Melody Maker (12/20-27/97, pp.66-67) - Ranked #38 on Melody Maker's list of 1997's "Albums Of The Year." Melody Maker (9/27/97, p.50) - "...fabulously fluid, so light and plain lovely....[Stereolab] trails its elegant hands again in the warm waters of French sixties pop, Latino jazz, and Muzak." Village Voice (2/24/98) - Ranked #29 in the Village Voice's 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll. NME (Magazine) (12/20-27/97, pp.78-79) - Ranked #26 in NME's 1997 Critics' Poll. NME (Magazine) (9/20/97, p.53) - 8 (out of 10) - "...DOTS AND LOOPS...is the most coherent, consistent and downright comfortable Stereolab opus to date. It is also their most full-on pop album so far....the best Stereolab album yet."
Wow... Mind blowing... words can't describe how great this album is. Definitely a classic. Submitted by Rick (Portland, OR) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Stereo-n-lab If you were dissapointed by the noisy lo-fi of Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements, and were looking for more pop infused electronica, Dots and Loops is for you. Combining orch-pop similar to Tahiti 80, Air and Ivy, with breaks and drum-n-bass beats reminscent of Roni Size. Sean O'Hagan's familiar "bubbling" synth creations are all over this record making it the perfect melding of acid jazz, jungle and pure pop.
YOU'LL ALSO LIKE: Ivy, Tahiti 80, Soulive, Incredible Moses Leroy, Air, Aluminum Group, High Llamas, Komeda, Roni Size and Reprazent. Submitted by a reviewer (Coral Springs, FL, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
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