By the time of 1994's
Mars Audiac Quintet,
Stereolab had already highlighted the rock and experimental sides of their music; on this album, they concentrate on perfecting their 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 have been 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 forerunner to the intricate, cerebral direction the group's music took in the mid- and late '90s.
[Like the other 2019 reissues of
Stereolab's early albums,
Mars Audiac Quintet boasts a generous and well-balanced selection of rarities, alternate takes, and demos. The extra material kicks off with a striking pair of songs that first appeared on a bonus disc when the album was originally released in 1994 and were later collected on 1998's
Aluminum Tunes. Brief yet cosmic, "Ulan Bator" fits
Mars Audiac Quintet's interstellar mood to a tee, while "Klang Tone" builds on this alien feel with a loopy, descending bass line and dreamy guitars that feel equally indebted to the rangier mood of
Transient Random Noise Bursts with Announcements and
Mars Audiac Quintet's more compact approach. "Melochord Seventy-Five," which comes from the band's brilliant 1995 EP
Music for the Amorphous Body Study Center, comes close to the platonic ideal of
Stereolab's music with its motorik beat, droning analog synths, and gorgeous vocals, even if it isn't one of their best-known songs. Similarly, with the exception of "Ping Pong," the demos included here aren't necessarily sketches of iconic tracks, yet the offhanded clarity in these versions of "Des Etoiles Electroniques," "Three Longers Later," and "Transona Five" is just as appealing as the complexity of the studio recordings. Rounded out by the original mix of "Outer Accelerator" and an alternate mix of "Wow and Flutter,"
Mars Audiac Quintet's bonuses exemplify how
Stereolab's pop and experimental impulses led to their breakthroughs during this era.] ~ Heather Phares
![Mars Audiac Quintet [Expanded Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/5060384615202_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg)
![Mars Audiac Quintet [Expanded Edition]](http://img.images-bn.com/static/redesign/srcs/images/grey-box.png?v11.10.4)
![Mars Audiac Quintet [Expanded Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/5060384615202_p0_v1_s600x595.jpg)
![Rosebud [Bonus Tracks]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0816651013821_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Rosebud [Bonus Tracks]")
![Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night [Expanded Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/5060384616186_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night [Expanded Edition]")
![Moon Safari [25th Anniversary Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/5054197906770_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Moon Safari [25th Anniversary Edition]")