When was the second album released by Lætitia's band?
In 1985, Tim Gane formed McCarthy, a band from Essex, England, known for their left-wing politics. Gane met Lætitia Sadier, born in France, at a McCarthy concert in Paris and the two quickly fell in love. The musically-inclined Sadier was disillusioned with the rock scene in France and soon moved to London to be with Gane and pursue her career. In 1990, after three albums, McCarthy broke up and Gane immediately formed Stereolab with Sadier (who had also contributed vocals to McCarthy's final album), ex-Chills bassist Martin Kean and Gina Morris on backing vocals. Stereolab's name was taken from a division of Vanguard Records demonstrating hi-fi effects.
Gane and Sadier, along with future band manager Martin Pike, created a record label called Duophonic Super 45s which, along with later offshoot Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks, would become commonly known as "Duophonic". Gane said that their "original plan" was to distribute multiple 7 and 10 inch records "–to just do one a month and keep doing them in small editions". The 10 inch vinyl EP Super 45, released in May 1991, was the first release for both Stereolab and the label, and was sold through mail order and through the Rough Trade Shop in London. Super 45's band-designed album art and packaging was the first of many customised and limited-edition Duophonic records. In a 1996 interview in The Wire, Gane calls the "do-it-yourself" aesthetic behind Duophonic "empowering", and said that by releasing one's own music "you learn; it creates more music, more ideas".Stereolab released the EP, Super-Electric in September 1991, and a single, titled Stunning Debut Album, followed in November 1991 (which was neither debut nor album). The early material was rock and guitar-oriented; of Super-Electric, Jason Ankeny wrote in AllMusic that "Droning guitars, skeletal rhythms, and pop hooks—not vintage synths and pointillist melodies—were their calling cards ..." Under the independent label Too Pure, the group's first full-length album, Peng! was released in May 1992. A compilation titled, Switched On, was released in October 1992 and would be part of a series of compilations that anthologise the band's more obscure material.Around this time, the line-up consisted of Gane and Sadier plus vocalist and guitarist Mary Hansen, drummer Andy Ramsay, bassist Duncan Brown, and keyboardist Katharine Gifford. Hansen, born in Australia, had been in touch with Gane since his McCarthy days. After joining, she and Sadier developed a style of vocal counterpoint that distinguished Stereolab's sound. After a concert in the early 1990s, the band was introduced to Sean O'Hagan, who had recently formed the band the High Llamas. He recalled: "we got on very well. Their keyboard player left and they needed a quick replacement for a tour. I filled in but then was invited in on [their next] record. I was allowed to make suggestions and the fun started."
September 1991