Thoughts on "Fab Four Suture"

Interesting, Stereolab follow the more so stripped down approach of the Disco influenced Margerine Eclipse and give it a delightfully mellow twist. Fab Four Suture is wonderfully delicious little slices of ear candy, and quite obviously, fun for the whole La Familia. The album begins with the funky robotic trance sounds of "Kyberneticka Babicka Part 1," which is then followed by the groovy and assured sass of "Interlock." The beats are tight, the bass lines are splendid and the horn arrangements are to die for. The very song structure of "Plastic Mile" is the very definition of a song within a song, truly one of the best songs on the record, and a song that shows Tim Gane's song writing prowess in great detail. The lyrics greet the listener with warning, and the frequent use of keyboards often have a menacing quality. There is a dark humor and melancholy throughout that appropriately displays a highly mature vocal and emotional quality coming from Lætitia Sadier's pipes. The mingling of tiny drum machine beats mingled with the more so reliable live percussive Jazz vibes is truly curious, but somehow works and makes a great deal of sense musically.

Appropriately, the album closes with "Kyberneticka Babicka Part 2," as if the demonic robot spirit that the song summons is somehow waving good-bye. Indeed, Fab Four Suture is a good place to be at musically, and while the tour for which wasn't quite as potent or solid as that of Margerine Eclipse, this awkwardness, if it can be referred to as such, is a clear indication that Stereolab are taking things in a new direction. Of course, the trademark sound is always intact, but what they are beginning to do with it and where they have taken it on this record is simply undeniably good. Think of early Stereolab but with the inclusion of some new unexplainable element that will hopefully more so take focus when they release new material possibly by the end of the year.

The interesting thing about this album is that it is compiled from a series of 45" singles that Stereolab released in late 2005 and in early 2006 just months prior to the release of Fab Four Suture. Of course, it is interesting to note that very few bands specifically go out of their way to compose material for the obscure 45" single format in mind, and that is at least in part why Stereolab is Da Man! I must say that this album is best heard on delicious double 10" vinyl, if you can find it. I will leave you with a great little music video a fan made that looks absolutely 100% legit. This is a sad number the church elders refer to as "Whisper Pitch," so do keep some hankies handy...