Stereolab - Captain EasyChord EP
(Duophonic)
I have a theory about why mass marketed pop music is so successful. It is
that if a turd is polished up to a high enough sheen, consumers may be so
distracted by the immaculate production job that they neglect to recognize
the product for what it is.
While I wouldn't exactly characterize the
songs on Stereolab's new single as turds, a similar principle seems to be
increasingly at work in Stereolab's music. The production has become so
super polished, so antiseptic, so shiny and sterile, that they have
neglected to include substance in the songs they have dressed up so
nicely. Some people may fault their producers, John McEntire and Jim
O'Rourke for this effect. It is more likely, however, that their skills
at creating chilly and perfect sounding records has just exacerbated
Stereolab's tendency to put style above everything else, which, honestly,
they have always done. Thus, it is not surprising that the teaser for
their upcoming album plays more like a bag of tricks than a satisfying set
of songs.
"Captain EasyChord," the album cut, is a snappy, brisk tune, driven by
piano chords, maracas, brassy brass and the usual assortment of other
Stereolab instrumentation. The twist comes with the steel guitar
interludes that pop up occasionally during the song. They are very
odd. As for the B-sides, they sound like a collection of disparate ideas
divided up into a couple of songs. "Long Life Love" begins muted and
somber, gets a set of "goo goo goos" and breaks into a completely
different song altogether, one with krazy psychedelic electric piano and a
quick, bright tempo. "Moodles" does something similar, but with a silly,
wah-wahed fake funk guitar part. Aside from the jarring effect of
juxtaposition, there is nothing really too striking about what is offered.
The last couple of proper albums has seen Stereolab moving more towards
intellectual exercise and away from the visceral grooves of their earlier
work. Though last year's First of the Microbe Hunters seemed to
herald a return to the old, fun days, the new single makes that record
seem to be an anomaly as the groop continues its set of experiments at the
expense of the groove.
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