Stereolab: Chemical Chords

The most striking element of Chemical Chords is its brevity. It's been

ages since Stereolab made an album without a dragged-out, drone-y centerpiece

or a 10-minute suite, and Chords finds the group in pop-song mode—all of the

tracks are in the three-minute range, and none is over six. Still, the album

doesn't offer anything quite as structured and hooky as "Ping Pong" or "The

Noise Of Carpet." Guitarist Tim Gane and singer Laetitia Sadier still build

songs on tiny melodies and samples, but this time they aren't falling

hopelessly in love with them. They're editing, giving simple ideas more impact

by reducing their exposure, preventing a Saturday Night Live skit from becoming a Saturday

Night Live

movie. This is exemplified by "Pop Molecule (Molecular Pop 1)," a thunderously

bottom-heavy instrumental on which the band piles atop a back-masked sample for

a little over two minutes, enough to make listeners beg for more, rather than

mercy. Meanwhile, High Llama Sean O'Hagan returns to the band with his giddy

brass and string arrangements, lending Chords a warmer sound than any

'Lab record in years. His lush contributions snake through the

Motown-influenced "The Ecstatic Static," "Self-Portrait With 'Electric Brain,'"

and "Cellulose Sunshine." Actually, enough with the titles. They give the

impression that Stereolab has burrowed deeper into a hole, when really, they're

finally poking their heads out.