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reviews
CMJ New Music Report Issue: 469
Emperor Tomato Ketchup reviewed
source: CMJ
by Lydia Anderson
1996-04-08
After establishing its raison d'Ítre of blissful, drone-based experimental pop songs with its early releases and perfecting the formula on its last two Elektra albums, Stereolab was faced with the challenge of building on its sound, of making an album kin to its forebears without sounding like a cookie-cutter duplication. Emperor Tomato Ketchup is everything a Stereolab fan could hope for in this stage of the groop's fertile career and more, and its rich stylistic variations and fixation on delectable tunes will surely ensnare many new fans in the balance. While songs such as the title cut and "Les Yper Sound" employ familiar Neu!-ish drones (albeit expanding even on that simple outline), Stereolab introduces a choix of new sounds and grooves: "Monstre Sacre" is a darkly seductive ballad with strings, and the album's first American single, "The Noise Of Carpet," has a punky verve reminiscent of the band's earliest singles. Like Pizzicato Five (although less kitschy), Stereolab invokes a loose, swingin' `60s vibe - think go-go boots and suede jackets - on songs such as "Spark Plug" and "Cybele's Reverie," employing funky guitar and bass sounds, Laetitia Sadier's vocals dipping down into husky registers, on the former, and seasoning the delightful, intertwining dual vocals with a generous bed of strings on the latter. The entrancing "Metronomic Underground" rebuilds Stereolab's interpretation of the drone, with guitarist Tim Gane finally expanding his range beyond the familiar strum, while "OLV 26" flirts with the listener, batting its warm, fuzzy electronic sounds like darkly mascara-ed eyelashes. Although made from familiar and easily digestible sounds, Stereolab's music formulates a new musical language, as internationally understood as the requirement for ketchup on fries.
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