Monade - Socialisme ou Barbarie
(Drag City)
Laetita Sadier of Stereolab has filled several split single B-sides with her solo project Monade, paired with David Pajo (as just "M"), Stereolab, and the Stereolab/Brigitte Fontaine collaboration. All those B-sides are compiled here along with a good number of previously unreleased tracks recorded between 1996 and 2002 to create a 40 minute mixed-bag of songs. Being made mostly from bedroom 4-track recordings, the songs are justifiably minimal and bare. However, most are also not very good; it's okay to just throw in a drum machine because you are just sketching out a song on the guitar or keyboard and need to back it with something. However, songs like "Cache Cache" sound like all the intruments were thrown in—Sadier concentrating on the overall song structure and her vocals—everything else just there as drapery over the skeletal framework. There are a few moments of inspiration, like the digital cascade of a click track of "Un Express" that flows out of its rather blase trumpet intro or the trancy and meditative repitition of "Sunrise Telling" (working with Rosie Cuckson of Pram). However, unless you are forever enamored by Sadier's voice, this record only is worth owning as a stop-gap until Stereolab releases its next album, and even then only as gentle background music.
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