Stereolab: Margerine Eclipse : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

More of the same Marxist pop songs, only not as catchy maybe we should be glad that Stereolab are in a holding pattern. The group lost a singer and guitarist when Mary Hansen died in a bicycle accident on December 9th, 2002. But the new Stereolab album, Margerine Eclipse, is neither a reminiscence nor a reinvention - it's more of the same, with gurgling synthesizers, leisurely tempos and "ba-da-ba" backing vocals. So how come there's almost nothing to hum? Stereolab once had a knack for making odd sounds go pop -- that was the not-so-secret message behind "John Cage Bubblegum." And yet this album is full of familiar noises and aimless melodies; even Laetitia Sadier's crooned slogans ("People oppressed, liberties crushed") sound a bit stale. "Margerine Melodie" has a meticulous microhouse groove, and "Bop Scotch" is an appealing example of Stereolab in rock mode, but still: Is it unfair to ask this group to do more than simply keep going?

KELEFA SANNEH
(RS 941, February 5, 2004)