Track Listing

1. Kyberneticka Babicka, Pt. 1
2. Interlock
3. Eye of the Volcano
4. Plastic Mile
5. Get a Shot of the Refrigerator
6. Visionary Road Maps
7. Vodiak
8. Whisper Pitch
9. Excursions Into "Oh, A-Oh"
10. I Was a Sunny Rainphase
11. Widow Weirdo
12. Kyberneticka Babicka, Pt. 2

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #139479 in Music
• Released on: 2006-03-07
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
Spin Magazine hailed Stereolab as one of pop's 50 most influential ensembles. Over fifteen prolific years, the band has produced qualitatively consistent and unique music that has been instantly recognized by media. In addition to over a dozen glittering LPs, their back catalog is littered with fan-pleasing gems: limited editions, one-off collaborations, split singles, etc. This CD/double 10-compilation also includes songs from the previous 7-inch series released in September 2005. "England's lounge-pop heroes" - Blender. "Stereolab's unmistakable cosmonaut pop...was a trademarked stamp of the '90s. No one else managed to duplicate their retro-futurist harmony or even come close to naming their albums with the same pre-Fridge Magnet Poetry serendipitous absurdity" - Fader.

Amazon.com
Beveled puzzle shapes on the cover art of Fab Four Suture beg the question: where does Stereolab's tenth full-length fit into the prolific act's fifteen year career? Is it a bold new direction, a weird misstep, or are the avant-pop tastemakers treading water? Fanboy internet sites seem disappointed with this one, but that's perhaps because their writers are still in college and they think that thinking too much is what it's all about. (Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar, you know.) Laetitia Sadier's uplifting lyrics may sound lifted from bad translations of Situationist graffiti, but even the band doesn't take that side of things too seriously, especially at this point. To answer the previous question, Suture treads water, yes, but marvelously so. This is the sound of one of the best and most important indie bands of the last 20 years reveling in their own, neat universe. It's like a genre novelist playing with characters and situation at the end of a trilogy, if that doesn't sound too silly to say. They've yet to fully heal from the horrible loss of keyboard/vocalist Mary Hansen, but it's just wonderful to hear them having fun again; they fully deserve it. --Mike McGonigal

Customer Reviews

Core Lab people will not be disappointed...
It's funny how fickle people have been about this album (which is actually a compilation of 7 inch singles). It's almost a shame Emperor Tomato Ketchup and Dot & Loops were so great because people just can't seem to move beyond them. Fab Four Suture is an utterly flawless evolution of the groop's sound. The new songs and impressive tour have proven that Stereolab hasn't missed a beat, despite hardships they've known in recent years. Personal highlights of the album: Plastic Mile, Whisper Pitch, and Interlock. Don't hesitate about picking this one up.

Buy This Lab!
Only Stereolab could do this. They've been together for well over a decade and still manage to produce truly wonderful music. This collection grows over a couple of listens then suddenly blooms in the most excellent way. Lean and sophisticated, this album get it's hooks right in and doesn't let go. Not since 'Peng!' have they been so hypnotically beautiful. This really should be the soundtrack to the summer.

Amazing!!
When I bought this cd, I practically ripped it open and shoved it in my cd player, because I couldn't wait any longer. I had heard "Eye of the Volcano" prior to this cd's release, and it left me very excited to hear the rest.

The album begins with "Kybernetická Babièka Pt. 1". When I first heard this, it frightened yet exhilarated me, I loved it at first listen. It reminds me of a siren and I think it is a good use of voice sampling, but as interesting as I find this track, it really does start to wear on your nerves after awhile. It's now a track I tend to skip.

Track 2-"Interlock: When this song begins, the beat reminds me of James Brown, and makes you want to get down and funky. Then (as Stereolab often does) the song changes in the middle, with lyrics like "We can learn to respect each other". This is my favorite part of the song.

Track 3- "Eye of the Volcano": I think this is a great song, it almost sounds suspenseful, like a 60's mystery movie.

Track 4- "Plastic Mile": One of my favorites, although I love most of the songs equally. It's almost creepy, but beautiful.

Track 5- "Get a shot of the Refrigerator": This has a great beat to it. Another favorite.

Track 6- "Visionary Road Maps": Sounds like an 80's dance hit, a good club song. The switch at the end is absolutely awesome.

Track 7- "Vodiak": Cute song, but not really a favorite.

Track 8- "Whisper Pitch": A hauntingly stunning song!!

Track 9- "Excursions Into "Oh-a-oh": Another danceable track. Listen-able.

Track 10- "I was a sunny rain phase": Sounds like a sampled super Mario game. My least favorite on this album, but still not a bad song.

Track 11- "Widow Weirdo": Great song. A good way to wind down an album.

Track 12- "Kybernetická Babièka Pt. 2": Thus brings us to the end of the album. All it is Track 1 with a fade in at the beginning, and if you listen closely, you will notice that the order of loops are slightly varied from Track 1, but hardly noticeable. Interesting, but quite unnecessary. If your going to end an album with the first song, it should be shorter.

I hope this helped. It is very difficult to describe Stereolab's music, because while it does have an distinct sound, they always use a eclectic selection of instruments and sounds. I'm sorry to hear that some people did not find this album impressive, because I think it's the most amazing thing I've heard in a long time. It seems to me that they experimented a lot more with reverberation and mixing, it is very well produced. There is not one track on here I disliked, although I have my favorites. It's just too bad that it's not very long. All I hope is that Stereolab is not nearing the end, because this sounds like a beginning to me.