I was rooting in a cupboard full of CD’s earlier this afternoon and recoiling at the endless stacks looking back at me at awkward angles through cracked plastic sleeves. Unloved and uncared for they’ll hardly ever be played again but then perhaps like ‘Ping Pong’ by Stereolab they’ll be plucked from obscurity. My favourite Stereolab period came around the ‘Mars Audiac Quintet’ and ‘Refried Ectoplasm’ (’94/’95) releases and I pretty much picked up every single/EP from the era. The ‘Ping Pong’ EP contained a live version (as in live in the studio) of ‘Transona Five’ and for a time I was besotted with it. It was highly characteristic of the Stereolab sound back then, lyrics were interspersed with moog patterns and Tim Gane’s circular chords. Lætitia Sadier was reason enough to love this band but their dreamy drone rock marked them out as true innovators. Pity they slowly let it slip from their grasp. KD
Stereolab – Transona Five (live)
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