Mars Audiac Quintet [Expanded Edition]

by Stereolab

Overview

By the time of 1994's Mars Audiac Quintet, Stereolab had already highlighted the rock and experimental sides of its music; now the band concentrated on perfecting its space-age pop. Sweetly bouncy songs like "Ping Pong" and "L' Enfer des Formes" streamline the band's sound without sacrificing its essence; track for track, this may be the group's most accessible, tightly written album. The groove-driven "Outer Accelerator," "Wow and Flutter," and "Transona Five" (which sounds strangely like Canned Heat's "Goin' Up the Country") reaffirm Stereolab's Krautrock roots, but the band's sweet synth melodies and vocal arrangements give it a pop patina. Even extended pieces like "Anamorphose" and "Nihilist Assault Group" -- which could have appeared on Transient Random Noise-Bursts With Announcements if they had a rawer production -- are more sensual and voluptuous than edgy and challenging. It's equally apparent on layered, complex songs such as "New Orthophony" and "The Stars Our Destination," as well as spare, minimal tracks like "Des Etoiles Electroniques," that the members of Stereolab focused their experimental energies on production tricks, vocal interplay, and increasingly electronic-based arrangements. The charming final track "Fiery Yellow" takes the band's fondness for lounge pop and experimentation to the limit; a delicate, marimba-driven piece featuring the High Llamas' Sean O'Hagan, it sounds like the kind of music Esquivel or Martin Denny would be proud to make in the '90s. While it's not as overtly innovative as some of Stereolab's earlier albums, Mars Audiac Quintet is an enjoyable, accessible forerunner to the intricate, cerebral direction the group's music would take in the mid- and late '90s. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	05/03/2019
Label:	Duophonic / Warp
UPC:	5060384615196
Rank:	50053

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Three-Dee Melodie
2. Wow and Flutter
3. Transona Five
4. Des Etoiles Electroniques
5. Ping Pong
6. Anamorphose
7. Three Longers Later
8. Nihilist Assault Group
9. International Colouring Contest

Disc 2

10. The Stars Our Destination
11. Transporte Sans Bouger
12. L' Enfer des Formes
13. Outer Accelerator
14. New Orthophony
15. Fiery Yellow
16. Ulan Bator
17. Klang Tone

Disc 3

18. Melochord Seventy-Five [Original Pulse Version]
19. Outer Accelerator [Original Mix]
20. Nihilist Assault Group, Pt. 6
21. Wow and Flutter [7"/EP Version Alternate Mix]
22. Des Etoiles Electroniques [Demo]
23. Ping Pong [Demo]
24. The Stars Our Destination [Demo]
25. Three Longers Later [Demo]
26. Transona Five [Demo]
27. Transporte Sans Bouger [Demo]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Stereolab   Primary Artist
Mary Hansen   Guitar,Vocals,Tambourine
Laetitia Sadier   Organ,Guitar,Vocals,Tambourine
Sean O'Hagan   Guitar,Marimba,Percussion,Slide Guitar
Andy Ramsay   Drums,Percussion
Tim Gane   Bass,Organ,Guitar,Moog Bass,Vox Organ,Farfisa Organ,Moog Synthesizer
Vera Daucher   Violin
Lindsay Law   Trumpet
Andy Robinson   Trombone
Duncan Brown   Bass
Alan Carter   Flute,Sax (Tenor)
Katharine Gifford   Organ,Moog Bass,Vox Organ,Farfisa Organ,Moog Synthesizer,Vocals (Background)
Jean-Baptiste Garnero   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Paul Tipler   Mixing,Engineer
Laetitia Sadier   Composer
Sean O'Hagan   Composer,Brass Arrangement
Tim Gane   Composer
Peter Morris   Photography
Steve Rooke   Mastering
Nick Webb   Mastering