Enjoyable but not excellent.
Just less than twenty years of existence and just under ten proper albums and still Stereolab seem a band that potters about in the background without ever really grabbing the limelight by themselves. Perhaps this is the way the band prefers it and they clearly have a dedicated and loyal fanbase but it is hard to recall the last time a new Stereolab was really looked forward to by anyone other than friends, family and hardcore fans.
‘Chemical Chords’ isn’t going to change this but it’s certainly a sprightlier and upbeat album. With four years since their last full album release it can be difficult to second guess what will occur next but this album is a positive move and should at least keep the old fans happy.
The intro to ‘Three Women’ is immense yet hard to place. At times it sounds like a naff game show tune, at other times it catches you off guard as you try to contemplate which lost classic the bass line was appropriated from. The brass section certainly lends a Motown (or at least a modern view of what Motown sounded like) and then you notice the breakdown section where the rhythm is kept by a solitary percussion instrument. Stereolab are definitely tipping their hat to an earlier era of classic pop on this record and there are many worse things to pay homage to. More traditional Stereolab musings appear on title track ‘Chemical Chords’ but the moments where they mess with the formula work well. Perhaps out of shock but Stereolab are a band who need to be jolted from time to time.
It must be the music around the vocals because the only time this reviewer has warmed to the vocal delivery of Laetitia Saedler has been when sang on tracks not made by Stereolab. She was excellent on Blurs ‘To The End’ and was positively fantastic on ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ and even the Mondade project had some good moments. On a Stereolab album though she seems bored and lifeless for large parts of the record that it makes it difficult to listen to much with nodding off at times. Perhaps this is that Gallic ease but it needs a better hook to wrap yourself around.
And that’s pretty much it for the rest of the album. Theres some nice bits and there are some bits where it meanders and doesn’t add much at all. Just another Stereolab record to be honest.