Emperor Tomato Ketchup

I have a big love for a lot of alt rock music and this actually is a great new discovery for me!! Never listened before and will now listen to more of their albums. I love the sound of this album it's going into my rotation! Love the mix of French and English. Can't believe I never heard of them before, I really can see how they would have been hugely influential and experimental in the 90s. Great stuff!

Krautrock goes twee indie pop? Inject it into my veins! I could happily leave this album on repeat for a good chunk of time. Fave track - "Metronomic Underground", maybe, or the title track? I'm less into single tracks and more into the album as a whole on this one...

Eclectic without much substance, it wasn't unpleasant to listen to, and I do like French music, but overall just eh.

Agreement this was a chores to listen to. Maybe I'm just old but I can't and never really have been able to get into electronic music or whatever this crap is.

The name of this group is familiar, but I don't know this album and no tracks on it rang as familiar. It was some very pleasant and charming music. The tempos are upbeat and melodies looping to provide some "fun to work by" music for me. I am keeping this in my library.

I love Stereolab, although for some reason I had never gone back and listened to this album before. I’m glad it came up because it is an album worth hearing! This album is chock full of interesting, vivid soundscapes that are perfect for chilling out to. Stereolab has a very distinct sound, but also mix things up enough that their songs are quite distinct and interesting. The lyrics aren’t so much the focus in a Stereolab song as they are another instrument. Some French, some English, but it wasn’t until the middle of some of the English songs that I realized they were singing my language. Even so, if you attend to them the lyrics often have very interesting topics they explore. My French is a bit rusty and the translation of the lyrics don’t always work well, but they provide another level of depth to explore and contemplate as you become more familiar with the songs. Here are a few highlights that stood out: "Cybele's Reverie" was really nice. I felt like I was floating along with the song. "Les Yper-Sound" is a catchy little number that seems appropriate to the political atmosphere in the US nowadays. I love the title track. Nice driving beat you can dance to and lovely French vocals. “Motoroller Scalatron” has a great jaunty tempo as it meditates on the nature of society. “Anonymous Collective” has great jingly bells and a really interesting bassline as it reminds us that we are not aware of all the forces at work in our lives. Great ending to the album. I liked everything on this album. Stereolab are formidable creators of electronic music and this is a fantastic album that more than earns its place on this list. Wonderful wonderful!

I really enjoyed this. At first, the vocals were a little too... "french?" But "The Noise of Carpet"... man, that was really something. Totally dug that. The grooves on it and the vocals really grew on me after a while. Quite refreshing.

The sound of living in a city inside a French synthesizer. Surprisingly good stuff throughout.

Ehhh....it wasn't terrible, but it didn't do much for me. Lazy review today. 2.

I enjoyed this album as background music. Too be honest this album could have been in a different language and I wouldn't have noticed. It does have a bizarre sound that I found amusing,

Not one I will be rushing back to.

Not my type of music

It is wrong to approach Stereolab as producers of music. They make soundscapes and feelings. When you bear that in mind, most of their soundscapes are enormously fun. This is no exception. I have to say that I prefer Dots and Loops, but sure, I'll take this.

Meh. Not for me.

Bit boring

Alternativt, repetetivt, soundtrack-agtig

Loved this and listened to a ton of their music afterward

I loved it, can't really say why, it was so varied and kind of beautiful

Fucking loved this shit. I cant explain why.

I enjoyed listening to this album. It has a smooth, sophisticated song sound mixed with the repetitive and extended feel of electronica tracks. I enjoy the vocals quite a bit. I enjoyed "Les Yper-Sound" quite a bit. I liked how they sang "op-PO-sites" (they did that kind of thing a lot with words). The title track was an example of where it could get a little tedious with its 1:40 one-note intro. But mostly I really enjoyed this music and would listen again.

Unfortunately for Stereolab, yesterday's listen was Elis Regina and she is a HARD act to follow. I really just wanted to keep listening to Elis. But I'm a good student and like to keep up with my homework so I made myself listen to Stereolab a couple of times today. It's good! Pleasant and unobtrusive, nice slow grooves. Favorite tracks were Metronomic Underground, OLV 26, and The Noise of Carpet. Now back to Brazil!

How, how, HOW?! Did I not know about these guys? Electronica? Check. Weird? Check. FRENCH? Check. Man, I am glad I found them. They are fucking weird.

Kinda weird, psychedelics

Annoying french electro pop

10 Albums You Actually Need to Hear Before You Die Chapter 11 (Fuck it, we’re doing bonus chapters now) Tomorrow is Already Here: Stereolab’s Emperor Tomato Ketchup Some records open doors. You might be content in your musical tastes, or think you have a wide ranging musical vocabulary and then one day you hear a record that shatters those notions, opening up an entirely new world of music to discover and obsess over, forcing you to leave some or all of your old ways of thinking behind. For me, Emperor Tomato Ketchup is one of those records. I had heard and liked a Stereolab track, “Captain Easychord”, by way of an ex-girlfriend in 2002 and I can’t really recall the exact impetus for picking up this particular record, other than allmusic.com rated it highly and it seemed to be a fan favorite. So one weekend almost 25 years ago, I went out to the record store and picked up Emperor Tomato Ketchup. It sounded almost completely foreign, or alien, to me. Not because of the French vocals and the spacey Moog synthesizers, but because it was pulling from styles of music that I was mostly unfamiliar with at the time. As I grew more obsessed with this album, I started digging into Stereolab’s influences, discovering Krautrock bands like Neu! and Can or Stereolab’s contemporaries/cohorts like Tortoise - all of whom I then began to obsess over. While Krautrock may be Stereolab’s most obvious influence, it’s certainly not the be-all-end-all. Across their discography, Stereolab are Pop, they’re Avant-Garde, they’re jazzy, they’re funky, they’re psychedelic, noisy and experimental, they’re retro, they’re futuristic….they play Space-Age Bachelor Pad Music. There are bands that you can tell are influenced by Stereolab, but there are no bands that sound just like Stereolab. It’s not possible and it is part of what makes them an all-time great band… They are wholly unique and they are fucking amazing. Without Emperor Tomato Ketchup, my musical tastes would not be what they are. It’s had a profound impact on me as a person, as a music fan and as a musician. For me, they are undoubtedly one of the greatest bands of all time, with a rich and deep catalog that has held up exceptionally well over the last 30+ years and is as relevant now as it was when it was released. In closing, if you’ll allow me to posit a question I’ve asked dozens of times over the course of the last 1010 albums: “Why isn’t Stereolab’s “Dots and Loops” *also* on this list?!?”

This was my gateway into this band, first time I heard it I was blown away and it's the type of record you revisit and find something new every time

Perfect combination of krautrock and french chanson. This band is one of the greatest gifts to humanity.

This is what a masterpiece sounds like. Take notes.

I love Stereolab more than I love myself.

I think this is a brilliant record. I've owned it since it came out and I still return to it fairly often.

5/5

Hell yeah I went through a random Stereolab phase last year. Some good weird shit. Never went through an entire album so pumped for this. First song is an absolute jam. The background instruments on these songs are incredible. Some you need to really pay attention but the pay off is insane. Halfway through and currently looking up if these guys still tour. YUP playing Howard Theater in Sept. Book it. Something about that scratched an itch for me. Weirdly fun and entertaining. Listening to more of them now.

I CANT believe that this is on here. As far as I know this is the only stereolab album on here which is very strange. My favourite thing about stereolab is that they do lots of experimentation, especially with synths and stuff, but always do it in a way which works and isn’t totally destructive to the rest of the song. I really like this album but I don’t think that it is even in my top 3 for them (I perhaps need to revisit/listen to more because this album is amazing and I'm not totally sure about that statement). It’s got a great mix of bloopy synth songs and also real instruments and noise-rock stuff. It’s sometimes hard to choose favourite songs because they often completely change throughout (very subtly sometimes though). Favourite songs: Cybele’s reverie, percolator, spark plug, olv 26, the noise of carpet, emperor tomato ketchup, monstre sacre, slow fast hazel. Overall around 9/10

First listen was in my car, which I have to say is absolutely the worst way to experience an album on first listen. Especially if that car ride is on the way to work, road trip listen on the open road, sure that’s fine but drive to work… fuck that, you’re setting yourself up for a disappointment. Sorry about that. Anyways, I gave it another proper listen on headphones and well shit, it’s weird and has some really neat vocal quirks with some great depth and the cool bits of electronic and even some elements of psych. Gave it a third listen later over a beer and I’m fully sold, no previous exposure to this release so this was another exciting discovery. Went in with low expectations based on the dogshit cover art but this album was far from dogshit. Groovy and weird vibes with a touch of J’adore Musique or shit. 5 stars

Love stereolab and this is one of their best

Interesting album. I like how the music acts like a carrier wave for the sometimes subversive and softly sung lyrics. It’s almost like the concepts that the lyrics are conveying are trying to implant in my brain. I’ll be listening to this again.

Love it! It’s got a very whimsical sort of off kilter approach to rock and electronic, with a bit of jazz thrown in for good measure. I can hear the influence on this one, a lot of bands I grew up loving definitely loved this album

Lovely, dreamy, indie-rock soundscapes. Not always my thing, but I absolutely loved this.

"Wholly futuristic and alien"

French artsy noise -pop with funky time signatures and fuzzy driving basslines? This does very much feel tailored to me, not gonna lie - this was an enjoyable listen all the way through, and my biggest question now is four or five stars... Considering I've just listened through the demos and extended editions as well, it's probably gonna have to be five isn't it - this is definitely a band I'm going to look into more, this is what the List should be about :)

Stereolab es una de mis bandas favoritas y Emperor Tomato Ketchup es mi álbum favorito de su catálogo completo, así que no tengo mucho que decir al respecto, además de: Qué álbum más bueno. La combinación de Krautrock con electrónica y garage indie crean una narrativa perfecta con subtextos socialistas característicos del acto francobritánico. Escúchelo, por favor, este es fácilmente uno de los mejores trabajos de la historia de la música alternativa.

The kind of hypnotic soundscape I can lose myself in. Groovy layered loops and cool vocals make for an upbeat listen.

I'd never heard of Stereolab before, but I loved this so much I listened to it twice. Very hypnotic and cool with great production quality, writing and musicianship. Five stars.

The best Stereolab album, five stars. Also I met Laetitia once after a Source Ensemble gig and she was a delight. Yes yes. Krautrock and indie pop. Hence I was always going to enjoy these and lo I have done so for around 25 years so far. Find myself agreeing with many of the comments, it's less about individual tracks (opener is outstanding though) and more the record as a whole. Also agree this is less lyrically important than the vocals are used as an extra form of instrumentation. However, go listen to French Disko and Ping Pong if you want some absolute bangers with real poignant anti military industrial complex lyrics. I went straight into a Stereolab wormhole.

This album was already on my turntable as I refreshed for today’s pick! A fun coincidence. Love Stereolab and this album in particular. This band’s vibe is just fun, and musically they just don’t sound like anyone else. Big fun.

Great sounds and everything

My doubts crept in with this album after my partner listened to it and found it just okay, but re-listening I see that this is still an art pop masterpiece, with enough repetitive yet irresistible grooves to make anyone from Can, all the way to LCD Soundsystem, blush. This is apparent with the opening track, as its hefty eight-minute runtime can see daunting, especially with little change appearing in the song, but it is those subtle grooves that will keep the listener dancing, or at the very least, vibing, until the closing moments. And just to prove the listener wrong, the next song throws most of that away and instead becomes a pop sensation, ignoring the trends of the mid-90s (save for maybe the Cardigans) and creating something just as space-like, but more airy and floaty, something to snack on before digesting the rest of the album's various pallets. Yes, it returns to its grooves, but there's also more rock-heavy moments, such as The Noise of Carpet, and even some more acoustic stuff to break from the synths and space station elevators. An album where you'll never stop moving, and each moment, no matter how predictable, will blow you away as the next French sensation toys with your senses, and you're all here for it. At least, hopefully. I do understand why one would be bored by this, and if repetitive music isn't your thing, perhaps steer clear, but anyone searching for something insatiably infectious, this is it.

Well I really enjoyed this! While the bland were looking back to the obvious, this takes French bubblegum, German motorik, funk and indie and makes something new and thrilling with it. An antidote to Britpop rockism.

I knew a few Stereolab songs prior to hearing this album and they’ve always been on my list to check out, so I was excited when this popped up. It was a fun listen! Hit after hit. Favorite song: Percolator Least favorite: Metronomic Underground Knew before? No

Exceptional! Alternative to the alternative of it’s time.

the absolute middle between noisy krautpop Stereolab and future alien pinko lounge Stereolab, and by all accounts the best starting point. i don't think it could ever live up to the pure sonic joy of something like Dots and Loops or Cobra and Phases Group, but in terms of something rough, something analog and retro and yet as futuristic as you could muster, there's not many selections better than Emperor Tomato Ketchup. ...don't look up where the name comes from, though.

Incredible intro to a band I should have known and loved for a long time now.

Oh dang these guys are cool.

To be completely honest, this is like the Terence Trent D’Arby album in that it’s just really enjoyable. I always thought Stereolab was an electronic band that people said was good but was really just fine, but this album is actually really unique rock. I especially liked songs like ‘Cybele’s Reverie’, ‘The Noise Of Carpet’, and the title track. This just felt refreshing compared to generic stuff I’ve been getting lately.

Lo-fi, repetative and on occasion sung in French. What's not to like? I saw Stereolab 32 years ago in a pub on West Hampstead, it made me buy their first album, and the 2nd time was the first indoor gig after the pandemic - they were great both times. Laetitia Sadier and Tim Gane weave a hypnotic set of songs which you can lose yourself in. They have always been on the periphery of my musical tastes, but they are always a pleasure to listen to when the occasion arises. This is probably a high point in their career, Cybele's Reverie and Percolator are class, the rest are great. It gets a low 5.

When I saw the band name and year of release for this album, I got really worried that it would be another incredibly boring 90s British electronica album. Fortunately, wile this is album was released in the 90s from a partially-British band with some electronic elements, Stereolab's album Emperor Tomato Ketchup is very different from what I thought it would be. For one, I actually like this album quite a bit. It's cool! It's kind of hard to pin down what exactly it is. I always like albums like that! I feel like there's a weirdly high amount of French albums on here in comparison to other non-English cultures. I'm not opposed to it though. I don't hate the French, okay? How could I when they're responsible for cool music like this! The style is nice. It's unique enough for me to not feel like Stereolab's inclusion is redundant in any way. The singing is nice too. I translated the writing and it seems pretty good. There's some political themings here too, which I always welcome. I'm kind of surprised Chumbawamba isn't on this list. I mean, between them being a one-hit-wonder, British, punk/alt-rock-adjacent, and political, you'd think Robert Dimery would've loved to include Tubthumping, but no. I'm not saying they should be on the list (though I wouldn't be totally opposed to it), but I'm surprised they aren't. Anyways, this album's songs are good. There's some variety here that I like. There's even songs in 5/4 and 7/4 time signatures! That's awesome! The album is a bit on the longer side, but it didn't really drag much for me. Overall, I'd definitely call this an enjoyable album. Apparently they have better albums though, so I might want to check those out. Also this album has a really funny name. Light 4/5.

When I was 15 or 16 I went to an older guy's apartment to get some weed and I remember this album was playing as we made chit chat. Not the typical classic rock I had come to expect in the situation but a great soundtrack for a stoned mind to get lost in with all the loops and layers and mellow vibes. He was probably a real cool dude but I had to be on my way.

I've always thought that I _should_ like Stereolab, and I have checked in on some of their records in the past, but hadn't found the album that really grabbed me. And then i heard this. This is the shit. A mixture of krautrock, 60s French girl pop (having a French girl singer helps heighten that impression, but it is not a lazy comparison; they really sound like that), which inflections of jazz, easy listening, funk and the Velvet Underground. This is the record I have been always been wanting from Stereolab. And I finally found it! yes, yes, yes. I knew this project would be worthwhile.

I really liked this electronic, laid back, relaxed but engaging album. I would listen again. 4/5, to be honest I enjoyed the insistence of a lot of the instrumental lines, but I think many could view it as repetitive. I thought this was creative, fresh, fun, and compelling. Super nice recommendation, I’ve never heard of this band before and was pleasantly surprised.

Really enjoyed this album. I don't really know Stereolab very well at all but this was a very pleasant surprise

Crazy album, but I liked it. First song was amazing and carried the album. I will definitely be listening to more of them. Fun find.

Somehow I had never heard of Stereolab before. I’m not sure how that was because I simply loved this album. It gave me 18th Street Lounge vibes without the Friday night cover charge. I loved the music from every single track and thought that the vocals were exceptional without being distracting. I’m really not sure how I have gone this long and never heard it before, but I’ll be coming back for more!

Stereolab is very hard to categorize. They simultaneously anticipate sounds that would dominate in the following years, yet do so by using sounds from the past across all genres. This album contains sounds that would become popular a decade later and sounds that are familiar and well worn. However, the only drawback to this album is its length.

On first blush, this should have been a no for me, dawg. But it wasn't. Stereolab manages to take a genre known for repetitive noise and turn it into an interesting and enjoyable experience. Is it all amazing? No, it's not. There are definitely some bits that are a bit twee but not enough to tank the record. "Emperor Tomato Ketchup" (that's gotta be a translation error, right?) was a pleasant surprise.

I'm really digging Metronomic Underground.

A simply gorgeous album.

It was great to revisit this, I have just spent the weekedn revisiting Stereolab's back catalogue. Superb!

In between looking up lyrics to the songs on this album while listening to it, I glanced at Spotify to see where I was in the album and I was startled to find that I was only on the third song--I thought I was half an hour in at least. Emperor Tomato Ketchup has that effect. While the songs themselves tend to be structurally simple, Stereolab piles on layer upon layer of rhythms, and counter-rhythms, underpinned by a motorik beat. The layering is also textural--the buzz of a distorted organ, electronic burbling, strings, vibraphone, guitar, and much more. All of this is topped off by the sing song vocals of Laeticia Sadler and Mary Hansen. The result is hypnotic--you spin down into the music and time distorts. Most of these songs are rather short, but they seem to go on forever. This is not a criticism, just an observation. How do I feel about this album? It's not as tuneful or accessible as the sophisticated retro-pop of Sound-Dust and lacks the gruff charm of Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements, but I like it a lot just the same. Why? Specific to Emperor Tomato Ketchup, I get lost in the sheer beauty of the elaborate soundworld Stereolab has created. It's like a music narcotic. More generally, I'm blown away by how effectively Stereolab has combined their influences into something utterly unique. Lounge music, grunge, krautrock, grunge, chanson--it would never in a million years occur to me to combine these things and somehow, magically, Stereolab makes it sound like the most natural thing in the world. My only criticism of Emperor Tomato Ketchup is that you won't come away humming any of these tunes, with the exception of The Noise of Carpet. The songs tend to blend together and blur.

This album feels like a bunch of ideas crammed into a certain style. Although that may sound like an insult, the album tends to pull it together by making sure their own style comes out rather than the random idea placed into the song. It's very relaxing and doesn't make you jump around too much.

Promisingly funky off the bat. Track 2 is a happy bop. Definitely digging this, would jam again.

‘What’s society built on?’ This is

Very interesting and varied album, almost getting some Deerhoof-y vibes from some of the songs. First album in this run that I will actually actively come back to.

The album grew on me with each song, I liked it quite a bit! Synthy, a little post-rocky at the tail end, it felt like a group that was just making the exact type of music they wanted to make.

Amazing how much of a wholly unique and incredible album this is. Just wonderful, not much else I can say.

This tomato ketchup based album surprised me. I wasn’t sure if I’d heard of stereolab before then remembered they made one of the songs from FlyLo FM on GTA V. Not sure if that means I really like them or that I’ve played GTA V too much. Anyway, 4/5.

Eclectic mix of songs on this album. Chilled out so easy to listen to but some lovely vocals and interesting arrangements make this a lovely album to listen through.

This album was strange but right up my alley. Groovy beats, wild synths, and dreamy vocals all contributed to my enjoyment of this. There was no single song that I loved but also no song that I disliked, so that's a good sign.

Really pleasantly surprised. The songs have great build and strike the balance of having strong core riffs to keep the song together while they get abstract AF but also the slow changes throughout the song mean they don’t get repetitive. Nice array of quirky sounds used throughout. Singing isn’t great, but I guess you can’t have everything.

Production: 14/20 Songwriting: 14/20 Innovation: 14/20 Bangers: 10/20 Emotional response: 16/20 =68 Solid. Nice. dependable. NINETIES. Also - it's the guitarist from Mccarthy and his wife - who knew?

I guess this type of music exists. And I guess there are people who go fucking nuts for it. I cannot imagine losing my shit for this chill synth repetitive sound. But it wasn't the worst thing I've heard. Some parts were pleasant.

I don’t mind the occasional French bop but about 4 songs in I was ready to turn it off and I probably won’t listen again.

// Favs: Cybele's Reverie / OLV 26 Score: Strong 2

First song was quite enjoyable. Gets you shaking your hips. 2nd tune was a little tired and I worried they front ended the good stuff and the list of goodies would, unlike my Sunday morning coffee, be short. Was I being too judgemental on a Sunday morning? Track 3 said "yes" as the album returned to form. Noise of Carpet briefly changed the tone of the album in a positive way. But overall the album was inconsistent and more off than on. There are a few goodies to mix in a playlist but overall the album had one thing in common with my Sunday coffee:  not strong enough.

"To be unique was more important than to be good", the words of the band's main songwriter. Probably explains why I'm not that into it although I can recognise the innovation. I like the fact that they have a very specific vision for their music and are quite fiercely independent with political sensibilities in their lyrics. But ultimately just not that into the music. 5/10

Emperor they say... Pfffttt.... more like Concubine Tomato Paste. This was not my bag man. I have a big bag but this does not fit into my bag. Maybe if my bag had a little pocket on the outside I could slide this in. IN that case I would probably barely know it feel out when I was climbing that tree. I would just fill that pocket with something else that is not my bag. I did finish this. and was underwhelmed. I give it two junior mints

Stereolab are a weird concoction. like sticking cola bottles on a pizza. Doesn't need to be done. no one wants it.

Get out of here

Have always liked this group, especially Dots and Loops, and Sound-Dust. This one was unfamiliar to me and I enjoyed it a lot, and even listening to the bonus 15 tracks on the expanded edition. Fun melodies, love the vocals, and singing in French!

4.5/5

This was great. Really enjoyed it. I can see it's influences in lots of bands that came after this.

Full bops

Extrem nices und entspanntes Album

yessss

A perfect record

Cybele's Reverie is excellent including the organ and violin. So is Percolator and self-titled. Monstre Sacre and Slow Fast Hazel too. French lady singing over pleasant music. I wasn't expecting much due to the album art but it's quite good.

This is an all time classic and singular record which holds a special place in my heart. Absolutely love it, and it's been a long time since I listened to it.

no notes

Awesome album. Not something I thought would be my type of music but the first song absolutely enraptured me and then it went from there. Really glad I got introduced to Stereolab

I enjoyed it more and more as it went on. A nice discovery

Groove filled chill out music. It's repetitive, but I like it...which is weird for me, so something's working here. Liked songs added: - Metronomic Underground - Percolator - Spark Plug - The Noise Of Carpet