synthesizer Blog and Journals

Stereolab are Europe's finest — and perhaps only— export of female-lead, synthesized Krautrock. The band has announced the release of its long-overdue new album. 

Chemical Chords will drop August 18 on 4AD, marking the band's first major return to the limelight since 2004's Margerine Eclipse (and the second album since the accidental death of longtime member Mary Hansen in 2002). Not that the band hasn't been busy. In the interim, founding member Tim Gane worked with Sean O'Hagan (of the High Llamas) on a soundtrack to the film "La Vie d'Artiste," and co-founder Laetitia Sadier has put out material from her side project, Monade.

Chords is the ninth proper album for Stereolab — and that's not counting their endless EPs and singles (all of which have quirky titles, such as Mars Audiac Quintet and Emperor Tomato Ketchup).

According to a press release, the tracks on Chemical Chords are mostly co-composed by Gane and Sadier, with brass and string arrangements written by Hagan. These days, Stereolab get described in terms of "compositions" and "arrangements" vs. "songs," because of their willingness to experiment.

The band's longevity is partially due to its refusal to play within one genre. The earlier part of Stereolab's discography was more rock-tinged, while their latter output found them playing even more with synthesizers and electronic beats. However, they've never strayed from a core sound — that sound just happens to be based on a wide musical template, including everything from post rock, to pop, to lounge music.  

To support the album's release, Stereolab will play some festival dates this summer.

Chemical Chords track list: 

"Neon Beanbag"
"Three Women"
"One Finger Symphony"
"Chemical Chords"
"The Ecstatic Static"
"Valley Hi!"
"Silver Sands"
"Pop Molecule (Molecular Pop 1)"
"Self Portrait with 'Electric Brain'"
"Nous Vous Demandons Pardon"
"Cellulose Sunshine"

Festival Dates:

6.15: Athens, Greece @ Synch Festival
7.19: Tonsberg, Norway @ Slottsfjell Festival

- Soikatron