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Stereolab - Fab Four Suture (Too Pure, 2006)

It is a curious time when veteran indie-pop beasts such as Stereolab, once almighty rulers of their time, must roam the same musical plains and compete for sustenance with the very bands that draw influences from within their expansive career. Armed with Emperor Tomato Ketchup and other seminal albums of our time, more and more first timers are creating stellar debuts and selling big, inadvertently pushing their heroes' aging careers out the window. This may simply be the pressure bands like Stereolab need to finally hang up their guns. Or perhaps it is a symptom of a larger issue in the changing musical world. Maybe it's too easy to blame this phenomenon on the digital revolution, but with such accessibility for small (and not necessarily good) artists, the listenership at large may have to rediscover a respect for the concept of a career versus any given summer-anthem album.

What does this have to do with the actual content of Stereolab's most recent release Fab Four Suture? Not much. Especially since it is a collection of singles and B-sides from the last two years, instead of a new typical full length (which would produce more relevancies to the discussion above). Stereolab's tenth album, Fab Four Suture is made up of twelve strikingly similar, yet endearingly sophisticated pop-aware, action-packed songs.

The muse for the beginning and end of this awkward compilation, Kyberneticka Babicka (parts one and two, respectively) seems to have been a dusty needle getting stuck in a grove in The Wall, though the tracks are mysteriously listenable even with their overwhelming monotony. A harsh criticism may portray these two tracks as an ugly metonym for the album as a whole. Just listen to them once (or for as long as your sober ears can hang on) and continue.

Without a doubt, "Interlock" is the strongest track on the album. With dancy synth (of course) and cheeky guitar-laden tune, Stereolab shows they are still an authority when it comes to the production of a single song-sustaining melody. The bass/synth/vocal riff that appears in the middle of the song it its defining feature and carries it the remainder of the two minutes. Though not always true in Stereolab songs, the melody's repetitiveness only compliments its creative essence and becomes an endearing feature.

Laetitia Sadier's lyrics and vocals are reminiscent of her past work. She still manages to come off with witty philo-political chants, such as the one featured in "Interlock": "What good is all this knowledge we've acquired in the face of deep nihilism?" Perplexing? Perhaps, but try on a term that has surely been coined just for this album: "consumorphic morality." What does it mean? Very little, other than proving Sadier's vocal style is so original and listenable that she forces audiences to love how she sings above what she sings. However, as this inevitably leads to a music versus lyrics debate, we'll move on as this is hardly the time or place.

"Eye of the Volcano" and "Plastic Mile" are likeable filler tracks whose titles seem to retain an uncanny accuracy as to the images the songs themselves portray. "Get a Shot of the Refrigerator," apparently an off-hand reference to the duties of certain members of amateur film sets (no doubt a clue to Stereolab's out-of-studio social sensibilities), is another standout track which blends the band's distinct sound with a more conventional song structure, and a more conservative vocals by Sadier.

"I Was a Sunny Rainphase" and "Weird Window" do their best to keep the album's interest levels alive and, the former especially, are likely to be favorites for long-time Stereolab followers.

The album, in its essence, is a grab of moderately good singles, thought-provoking, but rather boring B-sides (which have a tendency to relate a hazy eeriness), all sandwiched by two strange musical bookends. An alternate title could be: So...Stereolab Can Still Kick Around a Tune.

Ross Mann
Chapman Radio (www.chapmanradio.com)