CD Review: Stereolab - Fab Four Suture

This is one of those Stereolab albums that makes me say... "eh."

Anyone who has devotedly listened to everything this band has churned out over the years probably knows this feeling well. Along with the "wows" such as Mars Audiac Quintet, Emperor Tomato Ketchup, Dots and Loops, and Sound Dust; you learn to live with the "ehs" like Space Age Bachelor Pad Music, The First of the Microbe Hunters, and now Fab Four Suture.

I liked Stereolab's last full-length album, Margerine Eclipse, quite a bit — I thought it was a refreshingly fun listen compared to a lot of their recent stuff. And I guess there's nothing wrong with this new album — it looks like Stereolab and it sounds like Stereolab (recent vintage, at least), therefore it must be Stereolab...but unfortunately they're coasting here rather than cruising.

It may not even be fair to call Fab Four Suture an "album" since it's actually just a compilation of recent singles. But unlike the essential Aluminum Tunes and the wonderful recent retrospective/odds-and-ends box set Oscillons from the Anti-Sun, this collection is entirely forgettable.

Things get off to a bad start with "Kybernetcika Babicka," a gratingly repetitive chord progression that outstays its welcome early in "Part 1" and then has the nerve to come back again at the end of the album as "Part 2."

The other ten tunes come and go without making much of an impression, positive or negative. Occasionally a pretty melody will float by, and sometimes the band will lock into a nice groove for awhile, but nothing ever makes you want to turn up the volume or listen to any particular track again when it's over.

Overall, the sound is heavy on the synths and keyboards — nothing new for this band, to be sure. But with Fab Four Suture, Stereolab often goes overboard on the cutesy retro electronic sounds, and tends to layer a few too many keyboard overdubs onto the mix. There's also a "brass section" here, but they just melt into the background along with the poor drummer, who is sometimes simply beating time somewhere far in the background. As usual, you can't really make out any of the lyrics, but nobody actually listens to Stereolab for the lyrics, do they? (It would sure be nice if they printed them somewhere, though.)

So, until the next Stereolab album comes along, I can only say... "eh."

Article Author: SVF

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