Mars Audiac Quintet

• Artist: Stereolab
• Rating:
• Release Date: August 09, 1994
• Total Time: 66:57
• Type: Lyrics are included with the album
• Genre: Rock

Review

By the time of 1994's Mars Audiac Quintet, Stereolab had already highlighted the rock and experimental sides of its music; now the band concentrated on perfecting its space-age pop. Sweetly bouncy songs like "Ping Pong" and "L' Enfer des Formes" streamline the band's sound without sacrificing its essence; track for track, this may be the group's most accessible, tightly written album. The groove-driven "Outer Accelerator," "Wow and Flutter," and "Transona Five" (which sounds strangely like Canned Heat's "Goin' Up the Country") reaffirm Stereolab's Krautrock roots, but the band's sweet synth melodies and vocal arrangements give it a pop patina. Even extended pieces like "Anamorphose" and "Nihilist Assault Group" -- which could have appeared on Transient Random Noise-Bursts With Announcements if they had a rawer production -- are more sensual and voluptuous than edgy and challenging. It's equally apparent on layered, complex songs such as "New Orthophony" and "The Stars Our Destination," as well as spare, minimal tracks like "Des Etoiles Electroniques," that the members of Stereolab focused their experimental energies on production tricks, vocal interplay, and increasingly electronic-based arrangements. The charming final track "Fiery Yellow" takes the band's fondness for lounge pop and experimentation to the limit; a delicate, marimba-driven piece featuring the High Llamas' Sean O'Hagan, it sounds like the kind of music Esquivel or Martin Denny would be proud to make in the '90s. While it's not as overtly innovative as some of Stereolab's earlier albums, Mars Audiac Quintet is an enjoyable, accessible forerunner to the intricate, cerebral direction the group's music would take in the mid- and late '90s. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Three-Dee Melodie (Lyrics)		Stereolab	(5:02)
Wow and Flutter (Lyrics)	Tim Gane, Laetitia Sadier	Stereolab	(3:08)
Transona Five	Laetitia Sadier, Tim Gane	Stereolab	(5:32)
Des Étoiles Electroniques		Stereolab	(3:20)
Ping Pong (Lyrics)	Tim Gane, Laetitia Sadier	Stereolab	(3:02)
Anamorphose	Tim Gane, Laetitia Sadier	Stereolab	(7:33)
Three Longers Later	Laetitia Sadier, Tim Gane	Stereolab	(3:28)
Nihilist Assault Group	Tim Gane, Laetitia Sadier	Stereolab	(6:55)
International Colouring Contest	Laetitia Sadier, Tim Gane	Stereolab	(3:47)
The Stars Our Destination	Laetitia Sadier, Tim Gane	Stereolab	(2:58)
Transporte Sans Bouger (Lyrics)		Stereolab	(4:20)
L' Enfer des Formes	Tim Gane, Laetitia Sadier	Stereolab	(3:53)
Outer Accelerator	Laetitia Sadier, Tim Gane	Stereolab	(5:21)
New Orthophony	Tim Gane, Laetitia Sadier	Stereolab	(4:34)
Fiery Yellow	Laetitia Sadier, Tim Gane	Stereolab	(4:04)

Credits

Mary Hansen (Tambourine), Sean O'Hagan (Marimba), Tim Gane (?), Duncan Brown (Bass), Katharine Gifford (Vocals (Background)), Tim Gane (Bass), Tim Gane (Guitar), Laetitia Sadier (Tambourine), Sean O'Hagan (Brass Arrangement), Paul Tipler (Engineer), Katharine Gifford (Organ), Sean O'Hagan (Slide Guitar), Sean O'Hagan (Guitar), Alan Carter (Flute), Laetitia Sadier (Organ), Steve Rooke (Mastering), Tim Gane (Farfisa Organ), Tim Gane (Moog Bass), Nick Webb (Mastering), Tim Gane (Moog Synthesizer), Katharine Gifford (Vox Organ), Alan Carter (Sax (Tenor)), Sean O'Hagan (Percussion), Tim Gane (Organ), Andy Robinson (Trombone), Katharine Gifford (Farfisa Organ), Katharine Gifford (Moog Bass), Mary Hansen (Guitar), Mary Hansen (Vocals), Laetitia Sadier (Vocals), Andy Ramsay (Percussion), Lindsay Law (Trumpet), Peter Morris (Photography), Katharine Gifford (Moog Synthesizer), Vera Daucher (Violin), Laetitia Sadier (Guitar), Paul Tipler (Mixing), Tim Gane (Vox Organ), Andy Ramsay (Drums)

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