Aluminum Tunes
Given Stereolab's predilection for art-rocky '60s pop ditties and penchant for creating a compelling variety of absurdity, this double-CD B-sides and rarities collection manages to be less a meandering collection than glorious, mix-and-match fluff. Encompassing more of the French language than a 101 college course, Laetitia Sadier's melodic, singsongy vocals entrance the Francophile within and somehow ideally complement the fragmented nature of the typical Stereolab composition. On half-realized wanderings like "Klang Tune" and zippier pieces of melodic debris like "Munich Madness," the album flows by quickly, getting by on speedy and disjointed yet memorable flashes of structure. In fact, given the hodgepodge nature of Stereolab's musical mentality, the record feels like a serendipitous mix of content and format and treats Stereolab fans to perhaps their best album yet because of it.--Matthew Cooke