Stereolab – Mars Audiac Quintet (3LP)

Album Info Hide Show Artist: Stereolab Album: Mars Audiac Quintet Released: UK & Europe, 2019 Tracklist: Mars Audiac Quintet A1 Three-Dee Melodie A2 Wow And Flutter A3 Transona Five A4 Des Etoiles Electroniques B1 Ping Pong B2 Anamorphose B3 Three Longers Later C1 Nihilist Assault Group C2 International Colouring Contest C3 The Stars Our Destination C4 Transporte Sans Bouger D1 L’Enfer Des Formes D2 Outer Accelerator D3 New Orthophony D4 Fiery Yellow Demos And Alternate Versions E1 Ulan Bator E2 Klang Tone E3 Melochord Seventy-Five (Original Pulse Version) E4 Outer Accelerator – (Original Mix) F1 Nihilist Assault Group – Part 6 F2 Wow And Flutter (7″/EP Version – Alternative Mix) F3 Des Etoile Electroniques – Demo F4 Ping Pong – Demo F5 The Stars Our Destination – Demo F6 Three Longers Later – Demo F7 Transona Five – Demo F8 Transport Sans Bouger – Demo Info About Buying Vinyl From Our Record Store We are a small independent record store located at 211 High St, Preston in Melbourne, Australia (North of Northcote, between Thornbury & Reservoir) We buy and sell new and used vinyl records – if you have a collection you’d like to sell please click here . We ship Australia wide for a flat rate of $10 for standard shipping or $15 for express post. Free Shipping for orders $150 and over. You can also pick up your order in store, just select Local Pickup at the checkout. We also ship internationally – prices vary depending on weight and location. We ship vinyls in thick, rigid carboard mailers with a crushable zone on either side, and for extra safety we bubble wrap the records. In stock vinyl is usally shipped next business day, please check the availability field at the top of the product page to see whether the record is currently in stock or if it is available from the supplier as well as estimated shipping times. If you order an in stock item together with a pre order or back order (listed as available from supplier rather than in stock) then the order will be shipped together when all items arrive. If you would like the in stock items shipped first please place two separate orders or contact us to arrange shipping items separately. We are strongly committed to customer satisfaction. If you experience any problems with your order contact us so we can rectify the situation. If the record arrives damaged or doesn’t arrive we will cover the cost of replacing or returning the record. If you change your mind you have 30 days to return your record but you must cover the cost of returning it to the store. You can contact our Melbourne record shop at (03) 9939 3807 or at [email protected] Happy Listening! Description Hide Show By the time Stereolab hit their third LP in 1994, they had already carved a peculiar little channel through indie rock, one that ran on motorik rhythms, analogue keys and the calm poise of Ltitia Sadiers voice. Mars Audiac Quintet is where that current turns bright and buoyant. The fuzz is still there, but the edges soften; hooks peek through the layers; Mary Hansens harmonies braid around Sadier in a way that feels like sunlight on chrome. Its the record I point to when someone asks why people still chase Stereolab vinyl all these years later. Three-Dee Melodie sets the tone straight away. It glides rather than stomps, the guitars locked to a patient pulse while Farfisa and Moog colours flicker across the stereo field. You can hear Tim Ganes love of repetition as a generative force. He and Sadier treat grooves like architecture. Build a simple line, keep it steady, then decorate with little melodic balconies and spiral staircases. Sean OHagans ear is in there too, sweetening the palette with those candy-toned keys that hint at the lounge and library records he loves, but never tipping the music into kitsch. If you know a few tracks by name, its probably because of Ping Pong. The tune is a handclap pop song with lyrics about boom and bust cycles, delivered as if reading a calmly annotated graph. Its cheeky and oddly catchy, and it became one of the bands best-known moments for a reason. Its also a neat example of the Stereolab trick: make you hum along while you mull over the politics humming beneath. People still argue in shop aisles about whether the song predicted anything or simply noted the obvious, which is a good sign the art did its job. Wow and Flutter is another standout, riding a hypnotic chord pattern that feels like a train viewed from a platform. The title tips the hat to tape and synth imperfections, and the track seems to celebrate them, letting organ tones wobble just enough to give the trance some life. Transona Five has more bite, a chugging rhythm guitar cutting through the swirl while the vocal lines relax on top. As ever, Sadiers switches between English and French feel less like a party trick and more like an extension of the bands dual nature, utopian and analytical at once. Where the previous album leaned harder into noise, Mars Audiac Quintet shoots for a sleeker pop shape. The rhythms are more nimble, the bass lines more buoyant. Andy Ramsays drumming keeps everything clipped and forward, and the arrangements leave space for the ear to wander. You can hear why it became a gateway record, the one your mate at a Melbourne record store might slip on a Sunday arvo when the sun hits the racks just right. Its approachable, but it doesnt sand off the bands odd angles. Critics at the time clocked the shift. UK press noted how the group had turned insistent repetition into something romantic, even playful, without losing their experimental nerve. Later reappraisals have only grown warmer. Youll find plenty of love for it in long-view pieces that place Stereolab at the crossroads of krautrock, French pop, post-rock and whatever bin housed those 60s and 70s library LPs with geometric covers. Its the sound of a band deepening its language, moving toward the widescreen swing of Emperor Tomato Ketchup while keeping the homespun valves glowing. On vinyl, this album really breathes. Those looping bass figures get a touch more chew, and the stacked vocals float with a little extra air around them. If youre crate-digging or planning to buy Stereolab records online, Mars Audiac Quintet vinyl is an easy recommendation, especially if you like the idea of an art-pop record you can play to a room without scaring off the non-obsessives. Among Stereolab albums on vinyl, its one that gets regular spins at my place, sharing time with the early singles comps and the mid-period heavy hitters. Theres also something quietly comforting about how human it feels. The analogue organs, the patient patterns, the sense of a group playing with clear intent rather than chasing the zeitgeist. In a world that often files Stereolab under influential before enjoyable, this is a reminder you can have both. If youre in Australia and hunting through the usual suspects for vinyl records Australia wide, keep an eye out. Mars Audiac Quintet represents the band at a sweet inflection point, where their ideas clicked into songs you could carry around. Its head music you can hum, which is rarer than youd think. Product Reviews Hide Show Write a Review