Reviews Search

monade, "a few steps more"

Duophonic (UK) / Too Pure (US)
Despite being the first album with a full band lineup, the whimsical,laid-back sound of Stereolab singer Laetitia Sadier's Monade remainsintact. No longer recorded in her bedroom, these 12 melodies wererecorded on location in France at their Instant Zero studios.The songsdo, however, possess the feel of an earlier, almost more optimisticStereolab, before big budget blowouts and crazy horn sections. Itshould be noted that it's not an insult to claim these songs are muchsimpler than the music on the last three Stereolab releases, in fact Ithink I actually prefer the music on here, which is verystraight-forward with the focus being on catchy pop tunes as opposed toattempting songs that get so busy they nearly spin out of control,prone to losing their direction. There's no sense of immediacy here,and it's nice, like sipping a coctail on a lazy afternoon with songlike "2 Portes, 7 Fenetres," which opens with a slow instrumentalstretch before picking up into a bright Bossa Nova beat, beforereturning to the slower melody from before. Other songs like"Becoming," "Das Kind," and the opener "Wash and Dance" are equally asrelaxing and pleasant, while songs like "Sensible ex Extensible" arespringy enough to want to underscore a scenic bicycle ride through thetrails in the blossoming season. It might not be heavy handed or slickenough to win any new VW advertisements, but A Few Steps More album will certainly please many Stereolab purists. 

samples: