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reviews
track by track attack
a review of emperor tomato ketchup
source:
by larry larry@INTERLOG.COM
1996-04-02
1. Metronomic Underground
Starts with weird wacka-wacka noises and something approaching hiphop beat, then kicks in with something that's indeed a bit like Tortoise, but also a hell of a lot of Can, with deep, round bass and clicking guitar figures. Mary sings the same thing over and over while Laetitia sings something entirely different over the top of it. Motors on for almost 8 minutes.
2. Cybele's Reverie
Begins with brittle-sounding string section, then leaps into a classic Stereolab French pop song a la "Lo Boob Oscillator", stopping once or twice for a pulsing keyboard part. The lyric deals with the question of what to when one has done/read/eaten/drunk everything, shouted from every roof, cried and laughed in the city and country (I'm paraphrasing here).
3. Percolator
Another upbeat pop song with busy bass riffs going on and lots of this keyboard sound that I can only describe as kinda wah-like.
4. Les Yper-Sound
Not much in common with Les Yper Yper Sound from the Cybele's Reverie EP (which I guess is a remix). "You go on that team / I go on this team / divide everything / A flag or a number / make them opposites / so there's a reason / stigmatisation / okay, now we can fight". Very metronomic.
5. Spark Plug
Syncopated, swinging, I daresay funky. Tim's got a wah pedal and he's using it all over this album. Laetitia: "There is no sense in being interested in a child, a group or a society; there is no sense if one cannot see in them before anything else the life or its capacity to be founded upon itself". Mary: "La la la lala la..."
6. OLV 26
A really old-sounding drum machine, buzzing low-end keyboard, a bit Kraftwerk. Lyrically, it deals with the myth of heaven and paradise: "Depuis le temps que c'est promis nous irons tous au paradis - c'est un appel sourd, une promesse aveuglante qui noie la conscience" (Since the time it's been promised - we're all going to paradise; it's a deaf appeal, a blinding promise that drowns the conscience)
7. The Noise of Carpet
Fast, fuzzy and upbeat in a sort of punk way. Laetitia is reprimanding someone: "A fashionable cynicism / The poison they want you to drink / Oh no man that's too easy".
8. Tomorrow Is Already Here
What sounds like a detuned acoustic(?) guitar bounces back and forth between speakers in time with its own syncopated rhythm. Organ comes in slowly. Mary sings the main part (anyone noticed how she has a weak "s"?) with Laetitia adding little bits. Vibes come in at one point, courtesy of John McEntire, making it sound a little Tortoise-y. "Originally this setup was to serve society; now the roles have been reversed that want society to serve the institutions".
9. Emperor Tomato Ketchup
Another track that motors along nicely. Stabbing keyboard, whooshy bits. Not one of the more catchy tracks, so why is it the title track?
10. Monstre Sacre
A slow and sad song, somewhat Nico-esque. I have a feeling this song is about Laetitia's relationship with her late mother: "I can't let you go without forgiving". Swooping strings that sound like something from Indian film music.
11. Motoroller Scalatron
This is great upbeat pop. A syncopated guitar/keyboard rhythm that sounds familiar but I can't place it. "What's society built on? It's built on bluff, built on trust".
12. Slow Fast Hazel
Starts slow with strings. "Discovery of fire, America, the invention of the wheel, steel work and democracy..." Then a bit in double-time, a wah guitar part. As the title suggests, it keeps going from slow to fast and back (can't see where the Hazel comes into it though).
13. Anonymous Collective
Mid-tempo, subdued droney keyboard. "You and me are shaped by some things well beyond our acknowledgement" are the only words. More vibes, not much happening.
Sorry if these vague descriptions aren't much help, but it's hard to describe what you hear. Definitely worth getting and takes a while to sink in - that kind of record.
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