Emperor Tomato Ketchup

An easy 5 star album. This sounds like parts of many things, but I can't think of anything else that really sounds like this. Brilliant.

Masters of taking a single, simple idea, then building on it until it becomes something completely new, love this album. Metronomic Underground is a perfect opener and one of their best tracks, starts with a simple drum beat and builds in to an almighty crescendo over seven minutes. Cybele's Reverie is a wonderful little art pop song, very upbeat. The album remains strong throughout, the near one hour length isn't a chore. Great album.

It's listed as experimental pop and post-rock. A French/English band. I find the beats cool, but it's a little too repetitive for my taste.

It's alright 3/5

Beautiful voices in incredibly creative melodic and moving synth tech. This is as good as synth gets.

Totally digging this record. I popped it on and just drove along the bay, watching the sun set, grooving to these chill playful jams.

Most of the songs revolve around a single-measure loop, repeated for 5 minutes straight. I absolutely hate that kind of repetition. A couple of the songs escape that mold and manage to be kinda fun.

did this feel like i was listening to the same thing after a while yes but did i enjoy it? also yes. imagine how i felt saying "this is so french" while listening to this and then googling and finding out i was 100% correct, my parisian version of gaydar NEVER fails me

at first i was like what the actual fuck is this and then it got good and now i'm like twirls~ i love this~ it's so french and chic~ but then some songs are dumb LMFAO

New to me. Throw that bad boy into the rotation!

Cool sounds!

90s mesmerizing tunes.

A few highlights but it didn't really capture me. The music was decent but didn't really stand out. The vocals were excellent, though.

Funky little rhythms.

While Emperor Tomato Ketchup has every ingredient to be the coolest piece of music ever (an English-French collaboration band, a title directly stolen from a very obscure and NSFW Japanese film, a Kraftwerk inspired looping composition of the songs) it bores so very quickly.

Strange. Electronic/Alternative/ New age who knows!

Cuando un disco me hace decir "wooow" en voz alta es que vamos bien. Este disco tiene muchas ondas, desde rock indie, pasando por electrónica y puede crear ambientes en los que te gustaría existir. Se me pasó volando.

Once again we plunge headfirst into the icy depths of avant-garde electronic music. I’m never so unhappy as when I undergo an assault of the senses at the hands of robot music, especially when it’s basically the Beatles’ ¨Revolution 9¨ made into eight minutes of pure hell. That was my impression upon hearing the opening track ¨Metronomic Underground.¨ Of course, first impressions are often wrong or unfounded, and ¨Cybele’s Reverie¨ is much more enjoyable. There is still electronic elements but it sounds more like a real song, and a big plus that it’s in French. Everything sounds better in French, especially when one is hungover. The third track, ¨Percolater,¨ is even better than the track before, with a killer bassline, keys and more French chanson vocals. ¨The Noise of Carpet¨ sounds like the Buzzcocks being assaulted by Devo fronted by the woman from Elastica. This album did what I guess most great art is supposed to do: it challenged me, then took me on a journey. I can’t say I enjoyed all of it, and I probably wouldn’t go again, but I’m glad I went. Best songs: ¨Cybele’s Reverie,¨ ¨Percolater,¨ ¨The Noise of Carpet¨

Pretty interesting. It's a vibe

Nice mix of french and English lyrics with a lovely clean voice - pretty abstract structures, quite doors-like with a hypnotic touch to it. Overall easy indie listening with a touch of psychadelica

3,2

I listened the opening track many times when I was younger. I like the cool 90s vibe, the exotic French singing, the quite experimental post-rock/electronica sound, but after listening to this for almost an hour, it does feel a but too repetitive and overall, it's just without much substance.

This is my 100th album reviewed and I was so excited that I got the Emperor Tomato Ketchup album! If you believed this, you obviously haven’t heard this record. In truth, this isn’t as awful as some of the Britpop albums that have been included. But like those albums, this is another record of no consequence from a group I’ve never heard of. There’s a couple of songs on here that aren’t bad. The Noise of Carpet I kind of liked. And there were a few others which weren’t half bad. Some of the sonic elements are interesting. But most of this is repetitive and the singer’s voice is very weak to me. In short, it shouldn’t be included.

A cool album. Experimental I'd say, not a clearly defined sound, tho very reminiscing of 70/80's pop-rock. I'm biased because I like French.

“Soundscapes” 😒. They’re like songs but they go on forever and don’t really go anywhere and aren’t as good. But if you’re doing something that looks cool and not really paying attention to them then they are kind of okay to have in the background, to the extent you are paying attention to them, which is not really that much. https://tenor.com/3oON.gif

I didn't listen to Emperor Tomato Ketchup, I endured it! It was so long and repetitive, didn't enjoy any of it. I give myself a 5 for surviving this, and 1 to the album!

Another one of those albums which I think has songs with more than a million plays simply because this 1001 albums list is directing people to it.

Really like the overall sound and blending of influences. As I'm a 'lyrics' person, found the French slightly annoying

This record is clearly a product of the 90s. It's bit indy, a bit electronic-y, a bit wishy, a bit washy, but nothing to capture my interest. Plus the singing is especially weak. 2/5

so as people might know, the writer themself is an Anglophile. Due to their love of the British culture, a certain degree of hatred toward a certain country is also injected into their veins. Stereolab is famed for being RYMcore. which is, pretentious music held in high regards by Rate Your Music users. So the write give it a try. The first song is krautrock-y repetitive while the second song launches is quickly into French pop territory but ignoring fact that the lyrics are being written in one of the most boring language the song actually sound decent. And the rest is what it sounds like when you put Kraftwerk, Neu and any random French female singer into a blending machine and blend them together. Weirdly, the writer likes this and decided to give it a 4/5

4.7

Not for me. The vocals really annoyed me and took away any possible satisfaction

Better than MasterFoods; not as good as Rosella

*1996. Per Wiki - Anglo-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. *Chill and mellow, with some weird instruments/sounds going on. *Liked this is small doses, but got a little annoying pretty quickly. RATING - 6/10

3/5 pitää kuunnella uusiks paremmalla akustiikalla. Ihan mielenkiintoinen

Pretty solid album, it reminds me of a more electronic version of the Cocteau Twins. I think this album is good, but it could be great if they took this sound further. Mid 4.

pretty cool, weird title reference

Liian jumi, tekijöillä on liian kivaa, voisi tiivistää kolmiminuuttisiksi. Sinänsä äänimaailma on miellyttävä. Siksi en oikein kehtaisi kakkoseksi panna, mutta kun oli sen verran tylsää…!

I know Stereolab well enough to know their sound and their popular songs, but I have never listened to this album in its entirety. It starts off beautifully with Metronomic Underground, and then of course Cybele's Reverie and Percolator, which I know well. The album keeps this momentum with notable songs popping up consistently throughout the playtime. songs I really enjoyed: Cybele's Reverie, Percolator, Olv 26, Slow Fast Hazel. 4 stars

quite good, would have probably liked it more if i'd heard it at time. 3.5

The only thing that saved this album from a one-star rating was “The Noise of the Carpet,” which was actually a solid track. It had structure, energy, and gave me something to latch onto. Unfortunately, that was the exception, not the rule. Everything else sounded like a wall of noise with little payoff. The songs meander without purpose, and the occasional lyrics are either in French or delivered in such garbled English that they might as well be meaningless. Instead of feeling experimental or forward-thinking, most of it just felt irritating and empty. I can see how some listeners might label this “artsy” or “avant-garde,” but for me it came across as indulgent and messy. One good track does not carry an entire album, and the rest was a chore to sit through.

Boring, won’t be back to it Motoroller Scalatron was ok

Surely something else, but really enjoyed some of it

this was the most recent record i got obsessed with before my current relative music drought, further proof that this site has me bugged. its wonderful ofc, and im glad i get to talk ab it in a state of reflection more than raw reaction. i had a thought in my early listens of this record that it captured my beliefs, which is true in some sense, but its more that it captures Why i believe them. its so vibrant and joyful and creative and never feels constrained or stiff at all, but its also precise metronomic (ayy) clockwork propelling everything forward...its a strangely cogent musical expression of the record's marxism as a kind of inevitable advancement powered by Numbers and Mathematical Inevitability (a pillar thats often under-explored even by leftists). this also speaks somewhat to the post-cultural ideological expression of krautrock i suppose, but stereolab makes the optimism unmissable by pouring incredibly sweet pop elements all over it to bubble all the hope and unfettered harmony with The World As It Actually Functions to the surface. an irresistibly golden disc, and one of my new very very favorite albums. (quick addendum: i listened to this on a walk, and it didnt last me the whole walk home. in an attempt to keep my music energy rolling beyond my daily album, i decided to throw on There's A Riot Goin On, which has some shockingly similar musical appeal but also that coked-out emotional and sensory numbness as a stark contrast. very cool double feature!)

Pretty cool. Tasty baselines. Groovy grooves. Krauty, psychedelic vibes.

Very cool. Never heard of this before. Great WFH album

overly repititive AND french lyrics? Thats a double whammy. Some of it is fun, but man, some of these songs could be half the length.

I can appreciate the craftsmanship. The grooves are precise, the textures intricate... but the sing-song, high-pitched vocal style just grates on me. It’s absolutely a vibe… just not mine.

Aight

hate this bad I’m sorry

I mean id rather listen to this than join the us army

It's kinda like when someone posts a series of three selfies on instagram that look almost identical. On the first one, nice! On the second two... I know they looked different to the poster, but I couldn't care less. Pick one and commit. Like this album... pick a few songs, we don't need this many of the same thing. Keep a few in the vault.

It’s good! It has the “everybody must be good at something, for me it’s cooking crumble” vibe. The intro of cybele’s Reverie is very nice. Almost tricked by it. I thought it’d be a serious song but no. Very lighthearted. Singing is a bit meh. But it suits the album. The only problem is too long. The album is somehow diverse, but it doesn’t need an hour.. make it 30 minutes it’d be a good four star for me!

listened to it on Friday, don't really remember anything about it. i threw on a few songs this morning to review, and it was fine. probably the most indifferent ive been about an album.

I liked the style. It wasn’t what I expected at all, but was a chill vibe while still maintaining a good amount of energy. I would listen again, but not with much urgency.

Eh. Good for background music but that’s about all I got from this one. Struggling to see the significance.

This album is awesome! I was vibing with it the whole time. I think I prefer the French songs over the English. It probably has to do with the fact that I don't have to focus on lyrics. Ok, I really like this album! I don't know why, and I'm not sure if I should. I've listened to it twice, and it's just gotten better.

This is a fun listen, not my usual genre but really enjoyed most of it, great catchy pop mixed with electronica and rock and more. Some of the tracks on the back half of the album get a bit tedious and repetitive for me, but overall really good and will definitely return to hear this again.

Starts like a bad Air album and ended like a bad Mogwai album. Didn't seem much substance to it...

I don't think I really understand the inclusion of this album. While I appreciate that Stereolab have been around for years (they just released an acclaimed album in 2025, 30 years on from this Ketchup one) I'd never really been aware of their influence or importance to music. Maybe that's on me. They've always been there and yet I've never delved into their catalogue. I think the name and aesthetic lends itself to something quite spacey and electronic so the opener made sense to me but there's also some great rock music in here and there are some very successful experiments in doing rock things over electronic loops and structures. The middle run of OLV 26 - The Noise of Carpet - Tomorrow is Already Here - Emperor Tomato Ketchup had me wondering if we were looking at a five star effort. But honestly it didn't quite do enough for me outside of that run. I enjoyed it a lot and will address my own ignorance by having a further listen to their other albums when I have time.

Propulsive electronic updating on Kraftwerk. Worth more listens.

Listened to this pretty passively (sorry, Stereolab) but into it!

First half I was giving it a 3, upgraded to a 4 in the back half

This one took me a bit to get into but once I did I enjoyed it without being blown away by it. Top Track - Les Yper Sound

This was really well executed but the style is not really for me. In the background it’s good and I can see why someone would like this a lot. Tomorrow is Already Here was my fave. High 3.

Mostly background music but I did like some of the vocals.

Fine background music.

I wouldn't say this album is underwhelming, but it is unimpressive. I liked most songs here, but none of them I felt were special or memorable. This album kind of fell into the background for me pretty quickly, but it's not like it's bad background. This is only the second Stereolab album I've heard, and the other one (Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements) was wildly different (and I liked it a fair bit more), so I can't really draw conclusions about them as a band yet. Their music seems to be pretty unique, but in this album in particular, I don't think it resulted in anything particularly great. I really like her voice and delivery, through. I don't usually pay a lot of attention to it that much, but her voice is so pleasant and soothing. Unfortunately, it's Fr*nch... 7/10

Really different, i enjoyed it and ill come back to check it out again but for now i would say its a 3

8/1/25. Interesting listen, first time diving into Stereolab. Might require a few more listens, but always enjoy a unique take on pop music. Didn't expect what sound I would hear in each upcoming track.

Helt ok, men ikke for mæ.

★★½

Much like Daft Punk or Air, Stereolab feels both timeless and futuristic. I dig it. I also dig any band that commits so hard to a consistent graphic design motif in its album covers.

Not really for me

I really like the vibe, its like busy but also calm enough for work hard to explain

Not for me

This was a bit of a strange one. It's a bit like French house music in terms of the song structures. What I mean by that is that it's quite repetitive at times. But it's actually a bit indie rock but also a bit electronic? It's different, I'll give it that! I'm sorry that there's not much else I can really say. This is one you'd have to listen to yourself to decide if it's your thing or not. If I had to pick some standouts, the title track is a pretty catchy indie foot tapper and the opener 'Metronomic Underground' is the biggest example of the house music I mentioned. It really is like a metronome and it will be stuck in my head for a long time I should think. I can imagine this is one I'm probably missing the genius of. I didn't hate it, but I'm not sure if I really enjoyed it either. By the end of it though I'd pretty much had my fill of Stereolab and was glad it was finished. I actually found reading about the origin of the album title more fascinating than the album itself. (Okay that's a slight exaggeration but it's somewhat interesting). It honestly wouldn't surprise me if I came back to this in five years time and loved it, but then again it wouldn't surprise me if I didn't. What an utterly useless review.

The songs that has less synth in them are good. While I don't understand French I still enjoyed the singing and music. Most of the songs have synth sounds that I don't enjoy though so the album as a whole isn't for me.

I had no idea what to expect from this album. I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s so unique and creative. This is the kind of album I wished to discover via this project. I’m looking forward to hearing more of their work.

Kind of funky and fun reminds me of the late 90's early 2000's

I was a bit worried about this album in the beginning. But it turned out not bad. Lots of fun noises and looping to make a creative sound and album. Pretty decent!

This album has an oddly 60's sound for being recorded in 1995. Kinda cool but not really something I would come back to.

Very cool. Will need to revisit.

Not for me

4.5/5 Funky trance French city pop (aka Pastry Pop lol) Electro groove Alt-rock edges Soft chill vibes

Yeuk. Merde!

2/5.

I have liked a few Stereolab singles over the years but have never listened to a whole album before. Generally underwhelmed and found it quite faux in its retro posings and that its slipped far too easily into background music.

Emperor Tomato Ketchup I’ve never listened to a Stereolab album, even though I’ve always felt they’d be a band I would like. Metronomic Underground is superb, the hypnotic groove and drone, the slight bossa nova vibes and some nicely layered sounds all constructed with a light touch, really lovely. When it hits a similar feel on Les Yper-Sound, the title track and Motoroller Scalatron and it’s great; excellent bass, nice breathy vocals, hooky keyboards, organs and guitars, kind of like Kraftwerk + a bit of Belle & Sebastian + a bit of French chanteur. I really like their enjoyably experimental leanings and the vocals slipping between French and English, as well as their slightly atonal melodies, recalling X Ray Specs or Nico or The Slits, with a kind of nice, flat, cool detachedness. It’s all very enjoyable with only Monstre Sacre not quite hitting the heights of the rest of it. It started off as a 4, it dipped to a 3 and then came back to a solid 4, a very good album. 🍅🍅🍅🍅 Playlist submission: Metronomic Underground

'Metronomic Underground' sets the tone with looping bass hooks, motorik grooves, and a swirl of organs, synths, and vibraphones. The album channels the spirit of French yé-yé, and 'Cybele’s Reverie' is typical of that, string-laden and reminiscent of early Cardigans. This melodic charm is often offset by cool in (both senses of the word) deadpan vocals and mechanised rhythms that recall Kraftwerk or Neu! 'Percolator' brings a retro-futurist 'Foux da Fa Fa' energy, with a killer bassline, while 'Motoroller Scalatron' is a standout (amongst standouts) - an angular, jaunty anti-capitalist jingle. It's a bit retro Euro-pop, a bit Slits-style punk. Where it sits in the Stereolab discography, I’ve yet to find out. But I’ll return to this a lot: a blast of French detachment, wrapped in shimmering electropop. I think it's great.

It started off weird, but I was willing to give it a chance because it sounded different. It never improved.

Thought I was going to love this but ended up being pretty disappointed. Just didn’t work for me. Mostly just goofy stuff without memorable melodies. 2.5/5

A case of my personal rating being lower than the rating I’ll give it. I recognize the appeal and I really want to like it more than I do, but it doesn’t hit AS hard as I know Stereolab hits for some. I do love their messaging and hear how well everything’s performed. Just a little bit in a middle ground sonically, not quite total lounge music, not quite pop, a little bit electronica. I’m SOOOO happy there’s some non-English on here though, we need more of that. I liked the horns in “Percolator” towards the end of its runtime. I really liked the message of “The Noise Of Carpet”, it’s a rallying cry to not be so cynical going through life. The best bit of lyricism though is in “Motoroller Scalatron”, for that call and response of ‘what’s society built on?’ lyric. Soft soft soft 3 for me

songs were formed from multiple loops of a variety of instruments… an album full of this and after the first song, it became tedious. this one was not for me.

A peppy, upbeat surprise. This is good stuff and well worth a listen. Not a huge fan of the mix of French and English as the vocal track is somewhat muddy to begin with.

I don't know how to rate this one, I keep going back and forth on whether I love this album or am vaguely annoyed by it. There's some really interesting and experimental things going on here, but I don't think everything quite works. But the simple fact that I have had to think about it this much means it belongs on this list. I have to decide upon a rating now, I think that I will say this album is great but imperfect. Favorite track: "Metronomic Underground"

Exotic and beautiful. The beats just inspire. The strange sounds wrap around my ears with pleasure

So grabbed by the first track and surprised myself. Just felt very engaged and lost in it and the length became insignificant. Heard the band name before, but not really purposely listened to anything, although recognise the sound and vocals. Really enjoyable listen. Feels a playful sound, with the electronic elements, vocals and tone. Art rock. Ready for a second listen and then decide rating. (3.5)

I had never heard of them but can instantly hear that other bands were influenced by them. It was a really enjoyable listen that I would love to work to.

What a find, how have I never listened to this before. It's like finding a room in your house you've not been into before in a dream. Sublime

Kraut rock influenced post punk, synths and wild tempo changes. Really glad I found this band

Spellbinding. I'm a fan.

I think of Stereolab’s output as music for stereotypically cool people. Think: micro fringe with long hair; drinks speciality loose leaf teas; used to live in New York and Paris, is now situated in East London; is in their 30s but has solely Victorian furniture; vegan; bilingual; good looking; works with an art gallery; doesn’t use cling film for environmental reasons. This album in particular (very good, but not my favourite of their records) has a highly sophisticated, almost untouchable sound. Playful, distant, refined, beautiful, odd. It’s a real experience. I definitely feel more high status for having listened to it.

Solid 4, really cool, need more listens

This was interesting, but probably wouldn’t listen to again

A really chill album with no major standouts for me other than maybe the first track, but still a great vibe that I will likely revisit.

Offensibly inoffensive

Yawn. Still.

Meh. Very confusing this is on the list.

Repetetive, boring, monotone voice with random french. but it seems to be a common theme in "Art" pop.

Gostei do álbum. Celest Phoenixcall.

Rad vibe.

I would take a star away from another album to give this one a bonus star if I could. But I love Stereolab. Love them period, but love them even more because my wife is smarter and more successful than me, but hates them, so when I listen to them I’m constantly reminded I’m at least cooler than she is.

3.5 Really enjoyed the first half of the album. Second half just so-so.

Interesting album. A specific sound for sure, but not enough verity.

Some nice moments but overall I didn't really care for this. For every part that I enjoyed there was something that I didn't like in equal measure. This band have a unique sound combining elements of music that I generally like, lo-fi, C86 and electronica but it never really comes together. I wouldn't judge everything they've done on this album and I would be inclined to see if I enjoy any of their other albums more than this one. I'm glad this music exists though and I can imagine it's given a lot of people hours of pleasure over the years but it's not one I'll be reaching for again.

01) Metronomic Underground - 7,0 02) Cybele's Reverie - 7,5 03) Percolator - 7,0 04) Les Yper-Sound - 7,5 05) Spark Plug - 7,0 06) OLV 26 - 7,0 07) The Noise of Carpet - 7,0 08) Tomorrow Is Already Here - 6,5 09) Emperor Tomato Ketchup - 7,0 10) Monstre Sacre - 6,5 11) Motoroller Scalatron - 7,0 12) Slow Fast Hazel - 7,0 13) Anonymous Collective - 6,5 TOTAL: 6,96 (70/100)

Lite tidigt alternativt, vissa grejer som låter helt okej, men inget jag älskar

This is pretty decent, crosses some genres at times. I had a French album yesterday too which was an ear opener. Besides my lack of understanding of the French tracks I liked it. Musically it's good, vocals are very well done. Enjoyable, different and pleasant but not something I would go back to again I doubt. There are some mediocre tracks and some great tracks. "The Noise of Carpet" is good. 3.5, but not a 4.

Un grupo muy reputado, con cierto éxito de público y la crítica rendida a sus pies. No es fácil de escuchar aunque en apariencia los temas entran fácilmente. es una extraña y funcional mezcla de indie-pop, sesentas, funk y krautrock. Cybele´s reverie fue su mayor éxito, una odisea donde todas las piezas encajan y deseas que no termine. Slow fast Hazel con ese regusto a Pet Sounds... Este disco condensa su esencia aunque yo prefiero Doots and Loops.

Started slow, got into the groove but by song 8/13 I felt like I heard enough to get it; every song started sounding the same. I could totally enjoy 1-2 songs at a time in a chill playlist but not the whole album at once.

Odd at times, but I enjoyed it overall.

Very interasting and weird, but also empathetic and emotional. It feels like a bipolar and quirky friend telling me about their life

When this album was at its best was when I barely noticed it was there. At its worst I was starting to consider skipping because I was bored. Standouts The Noise Of Carpet 2/5

Was excited when I saw the poster and when it was made. Must say I was a bit disappointed. The record could either have gone in two directions: heavy and cool 90s electro, or nerdy synth - a bit like Air. Unfortunately it went the latter. First song felt promising, but the songs turned out to be mostly boring and monotonous. It also felt quite badly produced. Didn’t like the singer very much either, quite boring performance. Overall it fell flat sadly, no good song to count home here for me.

I struggled so much with this album that it took me days to complete. The number of times I started playing it makes Spotify now think I'm a big fan of it. I am not. Just boring and slightly pretentious.

I didn’t have enough time with this one but also didn’t feel need to give it more time. There were a few bright spots but largely forgettable. 2/5

Somehow less repetitive than other non-loop albums

nice sound - but seems very like background music 3/5 #musicsky #albumsky #musicchallenge

Didn’t totally click but pretty solid. Fuck kinda album name though…….

Hey I'm also a fan of Japanese experimental film

i feel like stereolab is one of those bands that all the coolest millennials love haha ... its really really good music, I have enjoyed everything ive ever heard from them.

Goofy

Tres bof

Je dois avouer que pendant des années je ne comprenais pas l'engouement des gens pour Stereolab. Je les ai vu en première partie de Sonic Youth genre fin 90' (dans ces années aussi: Godspeed You + Sonic Youth = mamma mia!). Je trouvais que c'était vraiment trop clean pour cette période. Avec du recul, mon jugement s'est adouci. Tomorrow Is Already Here.

Je comprends pas la vibe

Pas eu beaucoup de temps hier mais j’ai aimé ça. J’ai aimé les sonorités un peu wierd et les rythme parfois répétitifs qui rappellent la musique électronique. Par contre le cover et le nom de l’album: dégueu!

I would never turn this on but I left in on while mowing the lawn. Interesting sound.

Interesting album. It is a step up from typical EDM, but can still be boring and repetitive at times. To be fair, it will need additional listening time, but for now I give it a 3.

Niet mijn album. Wordt er een tikkeltje agressief van.

8/10

Live the album Title, but this record was not for me. While pop music is not my favorite genre, I do enjoy it, but the poppy elements didn't work for me here. Several of the songs had some catchy hooks, but then they were repeated long enough that I got tired of them. The lyrics were similarly uninspiring. There was also a dissonant element to the tunes, which seemed to conflict with rest of the music in a way that didn't work for me and I live dissonant music. Maybe I'm just not into post-rock?

Some interesting production every once in a while but a lot of talk of 'society' without much detail, just repeating shit over and over. 4/10

More here than I expected. Sure there is plenty of untsts untsts untsts. But the songs have more to them than just that. Kind of liked this.

Fun stuff, gets a bit ‘early Goldfrapp’ at times.

Me gustan la musica de fondo pero no es un disco que escucharia seguido e incluso diría que en mi vida lo escucharía como máximo 2 o 3 veces más, pero no llega a ser mi estilo en estos momentos. Me parece muy repertitivo aunque la primera canción me encantó el beat y de algunas canciones también, no es para mi.

Elektronische Musik, ziemlich langweilig

Might be good in a party setting, but not great for morning focus

Okay, good.

Pleasant enough. Dreamy vocals over motorik beats.

Taas erikoisempaa musiikkia, nyt vaan tylsempää. Kokeellista rokkia, joka ei sit kummiskaan ole niin erikoista tai hyvää. Vähän mitään sanomatonta. Parhaat: Monstre Sacre, Slow Fast Hazel

Nice, chilled out tunes! Enjoyed this one!

2/5. A pretty chill collection of well-produced upbeat tracks, with some repeated vocals here and there, or a full song. The instrumentals imply a more electronic pop or even hip hop base. It leans more towards pop and although the beats do get your attention, it's not always enjoyable. Some songs can be a little much they are not unique enough to not blend into the other tracks. Overall, I don't think it's a repeated listen for me. More than a 1 for the instrumentals alone. Best Song: Cybele's Reverie, The Noise of Carpet, Metronomic Underground

The two singles released from this album, Cybele’s Reverie and Metronomic Underground, which are also the openers are to me the least interesting tracks on the album, both archetypal mid ‘90s drone. Once you get past them, things perk up a lot. This isn’t exactly lo-fi but there is a charming and often joyful naïveté about much of this album which make it hard not to like. There is still that experimental rock feel of Stereolab, exactly what their name suggests, sonic magpies picking up whatever strikes them as interesting from the whole world of music and seeing what they can make of it.

One of the minor irritant of musical culture in UK is that it's predominantly English Language based, so I do like to force myself to try other cultures. And France rarely crops up. So, it was with enthusiasm I tried this LP. Alas, it just seemed so insipid. Rather whimsical, twee and ... lukewarm. Nowt offensive, but no reason to click on the repeat button.

Began packing up my room to this album and it kept the mood light, which I appreciated. and those interlocking loops are mesmerising

Crazy Sturdy A tor Pedo

I don’t know which of the Stereolab albums are my favorite but I know I never turn off one of their songs when it comes on

Rock, I guess? Some electronic/jazz/groove leanings

Not my bag, but I guess it’s fine…

++: Metronomic Underground, Percolator, Les Y-Per Sound, Spark Plug, OLV 26, The Noise of Carpet, Tomorrow Is Already Here, Emperor Tomato Ketchup, Motoroller Scallotron +: Cybele's Reverie, Monster Sacre, Anonymous Collective +-: Slow Fast Hazel 8,8/10

Sounds like ChatGPT‘s retarded French great great grandfather made this

2,4/5

This album is my kind of weird. They blend a lot of different genres really well. Especially enjoyed the vocals. I'll probably check it the rest of the catalog. Another unknown gem from the generator.

So this turned out to be exactly what I expected from the album name, aside from the French. Euro alt pop isn’t my genre of choice, but it’s not terrible for one listen through.

4.2 - Interesting, was fun

Even though I hate ketchup I can find space in my heart for this album. Fave Tracks: Metronomic Underground, Cybele's Reverie, Les Yper-Sound, Olv 26, Emperor Tomato Ketchup, Slow Fast Hazel 4.4/5

It's...ok? Some songs can jam, others, meh. The French intertwined is a bit pretentious, but what would you expect from a 90's indie band?

This was pleasant enough, essentially scraps and samples put together to create new tracks, electronic with a 1960s feel and French-pop female vocals which are nice. It's not earth-shattering and I have heard similar done better. Not sure why it made it to this list but it is good background music.

Coincidence will have it that I recently listened to the newly released 11th album from Stereolab. I could not help feeling that I was too dumb to “get it”. It's the same with this album. 'Metronomic Underground' is a great pulsating opener, but the rest of the record seems much less focused. Some catchy melodies all around, but that's sorta it.

I kind of like it? Maybe? But I really don’t get it.

Inoffensive but uninteresting background music. If they weren’t French no one would have ever cared about them.

I like how some beats/sounds just repeat themselves in this album it feels comforting but by the end of the album I was getting a bit burned out, but I liked the album overall.

Motorik! A bit french! Links to Dunedin sound! Avant Garde! Left wing!

This was great! Wonderfully quirky, funky and groovy - much as you'd expect from something with such a bonkers title

Love the vocal layering of the first track metronomic underground, almost minimalist feel. Last track has such a good vibe. Very low key fun minimalist electronic pop

Great voice, but not my style.

Great

I really liked this album! Awesome loops and lyrics!

Frenchy Dandy Warhols I feel like I would have been into this if I'd heard it back in the 90s, it was an ok listen, but probably won't get another spin from me.

Stereolab is just so cool. Maybe the French makss it sound fancier than it really is, but it feels like a natural and progressive step in synthetic music where the production really lets it shine compared to its peers in the previous decade. Cybele's Reverie is an amazing song, and my other favorites here are Percolator and Monster Sacre.

Say what you will about the French, they make a good chill electronic album.

The first track (Metronomic Underground) really sparked my interest, and made me think this might be a 5-starrer for me, but it turned out to be my favourite track in the end. For that, I downgrade it one star (might regret it later...), but really happy to have become acquainted with the album, and the voices of stereolab that seemed to act as additional instruments from time to time.

Nice

First listen

honestly enjoyed way more than i thought super chill vibes and i like the mix of english and french, love the vocalists voice

Complete pretentious crap

ThI first couple of tracks were ok, but it’s a bit bland/samey later. Could have done with some pruning.

That was surprisingly pleasant and fun. Good music to listen to while working.

I’d heard of Stereolab but this was my first listen to the band, and I loved it. Potential for 5 stars from me with more listens.

Listened to this on a long drive- not once did I start tapping my foot or feel it. Guess I’m just not cool enough.

I definitely listen to Stereolab and to this album in the past, but today it struck me all wrong. The lack of melodies and the combo French and English was agitating.

Pretty bad.

A seminal album. Sonic brilliance.

If I woke up tomorrow and this album didn't exist, I don't think much would change. It's not that it isn't good music, but it's entirely forgettable. Doesn't add much to the music scene for me

I've always wanted to check these guys out, but whenever I did I was generally not too impressed. I always found their more popular stuff a bit unremarkable. Hoping to have my mind changed by this, really liking the album name at least. I'm a bit worried though as to the length of it, especially if I'm gonna be bored. Though an hour isn't actually that long, it can take a while if you're pausing a lot to take notes. Hoping to be surprised, going in with mixed expectations. Metronomic Underground Those are some strange electronics. Love the sound of that bassline. The way it builds up while taking its time is pretty cool. It's interesting if not a bit repetitive. The slight instrumental changeup comes at an opportune time. Great distortion, gibes the track some dynamism. The ending is very satisfying. Good. 4/5 Cybele's Reverie Pretty cool violin intro. Sounds pretty sweet, love the lushness of the instrumental. Has a nice vocal melody on the chorus. Very pleasant and catchy. Love the vocal layering. Great climax. Great. 4.5/5 Percolator Fantastic synth sound, really fun bassline. Strange instrumental. The horns(?) are pretty bad, don't like. It's a bit of a strange track that starts out feeling like it doesn't go anywhere. When it finally does I don't really like the direction it takes. I think the base concept of the song is good enough to warrant praise, but it repeats itself a bit too much. The ending is chaotic and messy to my ears. Average. 2.5/5 Les-Yper Sound Fun groove, feels like it moves very freely. I like the synths a lot. The vocals have a care free nature to them which works pretty well with this sound. Kinda fun, but not exactly life changing. Fine. 3/5 Spark Plug Feels a bit more straight forward than previous tracks. Really like the funkiness of the instrumental. Has a great synergy between main and backing vocals. Works for what it is, but doesn't exactly stand out. Wish there was a bit more of a kick to it. Fine. 3/5 Olv 26 I like how it's almost mechanical in its composition. There's some nice crunchiness to the instrumental that I quite enjoy. I don't really get anything out of the vocals. The instrumental bride at the end is very nice. Has a bit of psychedelic energy to it with the subtle panning and the bubbly background effects. Decent. 3.5/5 The Noise Of Carpet Wasn't expecting to hear such a garagey instrumental. I find how awkwardly the vocals fit kinda charming. Great solo. Has some cool layering. Decent. 3.5/5 Tomorrow Is Already Here Don't really like the intro that much, feels a bit jagged. I think the song greatly improves as soon as the vocals come in, drastically smoothens the track's rough edges. The vibraphone is really pleasant, adds a lot to the rhythmic elements of the track. Decent. 3.5/5 Emperor Tomato Ketchup Bouncy, sharp and fun. Kinda more of the same really. Has it's charms with a decently fun instrumental and a melodic and free sounding vocal performance. It's however nothing too remarkable. Fine. 3/5 Monstre Sacre I like the total change in atmosphere. Feels a bit darker with a hint of mystery. I don't care much for the lyrics as they feel a bit underdeveloped. The vocal melody is too repetitive, lacks any sort of dynamism or variety. A bit boring. Average. 2.5/5 Motoroller Scalatron Really like how colourful this is. Feels really positive and sweet. Don't have much else to say. Kinda like it. Decent. 3.5/5 Slow Fast Hazel Don't like how loud the vocals are here. I quite enjoyed the wobbly guitar. The bassline sorta grew on me, started out finding it kinda unremarkable, but ended up really enjoying how well it works with the rest of the track. The faster part of the track is honestly quite cool. Fantastic long organ notes. The higher vocals are however a bit rough. Decent. 3.5/5 Anonymous Collective It's moody and slow, and also kinda hypnotic. Love the instrumental, has some really subtle depth to it. Perfectly acceptable closer. Decent. 3.5/5 A very consistent album, but never really mindblowing in anyway. Each song felt decently creative, was generally pleasant to listen to, never straying outside of a well established comfort zone. The instrumentals, while not awe inspiring kept bringing out some fresh ideas. These ideas paired well up with some sweet and warm sounding vocals to create moments of cute and understated musicality which was generally easy to listen to. Love the diverse array of sounds and decent instrumental variety. But that's about it, there's just not a lot to talk about here. It's generally inoffensive and kinda edgeless, feeling a bit too smooth at times. My only real critisism of the album is that it has a lot of tracks that feel a bit too repetitive, where the base idea is pretty good, but it never really goes anywhere from there. It's generally just a pretty good album, though nothing that's too outstanding in the grand scheme of things. The most 7/10 thing I've heard in a while. 3.5/5, leaning more towards a 3/5 Fave track. Cybele's Reverie Least fave track. Percolator

I think if they weren’t French I probably wouldn’t have liked this as much as I did. Was bit long.

Fine, I guess.

The Good: … The Bad: tomato ketchup? The Ugly: in both ears… I don’t know if it is the app, but I all of a sudden have had 3 french based musicians in a row… what is up with that? Did I like it? Did I hate it?

Nothing I'd choose to play in the car, but nice soundscape for background music while I work. 3/5.

Just not my jam, I'm afraid. I tried to get into it and give it a fair shake, but I honestly prefer other albums on this list.

Drones a bit too much without actually creating a good soundscape. The synth sounds don't fill up the empty space left by the disinterested vocals. There's just too little going on here while at the same time being hard to swallow by being dense with drunk sounding weirdness. Lyrics are about urbanism but the writer was more concerned with using complicated words than actually capturing any feelings or making profound remarks or making it sound good.

я сначала подумал что это залупа, потом в моменте передумал, потом опять посчитал что это залупа. в итоге остановимся на том - что это творог подзалупный, который собрался ребята

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!

Listens: 3 Standout Tracks: Metronomic Underground I love the track names; bizarre and totally out there. The music is good, the lyrics less so. For several tracks, there's not so much singing as there is stating the same few phrases over and over again. Its inherently repetitive. The music is keeping the album afloat though. Its a good fusion of electronica, guitar rock, jazz, funk and some other stuff that I can't quantify. 3.5 Edit: Increased to 4. I have started adding this album to my rotation. I am listening to it a month later. I have also started listening to their new 2025 release "Instance Holograms On Metal Film". I am still not thrilled about the repetitiveness of the lyrics sometimes, but the beats and melodies are undeniably good.

very odd album but also surprisingly enjoyable with pop sensibilities

Not for me

I was in the mood for Stereolab, so I was very excited to this album pop up!

Cute and cool at the same time

Not really for me.

I'd heard of this and I think that - as a diehard 90s alternative music snob - I'm supposed to like this, but I don't. I wasn't at all surprised when I checked Wikipedia and discovered one of them was French.

This was different for different’s sake. I’ll give a whole point extra for novelty.

Not too exciting

Not really into it but funny title

Reminds me of good old days... in a good way

Unique sound needs a relisten or two

4.5/5

Some of this was too odd for me. Other parts felt like a peppier Belle and Sebastian. Did not completely dislike this.

I did not hate this but it wasn't all the way there for me.

The music is mind numbingly monotonous but I guess that’s the point?

Enjoyed this a lot

Not bad in the background. Where it’s pleasant enough. Bit too repetitive for my tastes to be front and centre, to point maybe a little boring. But overall yeah I can go with it, not much more really 2 Star

Not really for me but interesting

I liked it, but droned on a bit and I felt like I was losing internest

I don’t know what they’re saying but it’s a vibe.

Nice and enjoyable listen. Didn't really get to pay attention to it but I liked what I heard. Bonus points for being sung in French too. Probably have to listen to this one again since I liked it but don't really recall that much from it.

can't wait to see them live for the first time this June...

Fuzzy and computery. Nice combination of sounds.

I recently finished reading Bonjour Tristesse. I hated every second of it. It’s been nearly 8 years since I finished reading a book; I used to be a precocious, intense, and passionate reader: largely of classical literature, big tomes written by Russians and translated by women, modernist experimenters, and post-modern political theory that called moderate liberalism fascism…and then I went to graduate school, gained 75 pounds, began an all-consuming career in nonprofit fundraising in toxic small organizations that convinced me they were saving the world so I should make their mission my #1 priority on a $50K salary in NYC , and felt as if my brain had oozed out of my ears and my passion for anything serious died with my passion for life itself. The last two years have been a slow, extremely difficult crawl back to the surface, largely inspired by my egg cracking and finally not feeling like death was better than being alive, because accepting my transness makes me want to be alive, yet, during that process, I rejected a lot of my past in an attempt to only look forward, waving my hand at my pre-transition self as a pretentious prick with an ego in comparison to my stable, professional, superficial new persona, because god, was I looking forward to disconnecting from my past– on the brink of starting my medical transition, feeling some professional success and relief after 3/4th of a decade, and settling. And then, 3 months ago, it all came crashing down again as federal funding cuts forced me to be laid off, forcing me to pause any major life decisions, freeze any summer plans and habitual outings, and stripping me once again of any of the passions I had cultivated over the last two years as I sat and reflected, asking myself, “What do you actually want out of life, bitch?” And look, while being unemployed and constantly concerned that I won’t be able to pay my NYC rent is not an easy day-to-day life, at night, I have a lot of downtime to reflect, so I began to reflect and reckon with my past self and rediscover passions and attitudes I ditched in favor of a career as a fairly uninteresting yet safe transgender woman. The only real old passion I had held on to was music via this generator, but I felt the need to put that on pause while I figured my shit out, and, in the absence of music, I found my passion for reading (and creative writing) bubbling back up. Given the scorching heat of summer, I figured a short, summery book that fit in my purse would be a good place to re-enter the world of legitimate literature. And then I read Bonjour Tristesse and felt so much hatred toward every word on the page. Yes, I found it adolescent; yes, I found it privileged; yes, those two elements clashed with my current life so deeply that I couldn’t tolerate it. (That’s not even mentioning that I found the plot and the literal writing on a sentence-level to be unforgivable.) But most of all, I hated Bonjour Tristesse because it was French, and god, do I hate French sensibilities. Anyway, this rant is largely irrelevant to Emperor Tomato Ketchup, except to say that I fully expected to loathe this for its French sensibilities, as well. But I don’t! Actually, I kind of love it for that. It’s got a ‘90s indie rock vibe but with a lot more bleep boops, and how can I not love that about it! And while maybe its English sensibilities save it from being pretentious, there’s something adorable about the version of pretentiousness Stereolab inhabit. It’s chic in an assumed French way, but also effortless and sincere in an actually French way. And I think maybe I need to remember that who I am myself should be effortless and sincere, even if it’s a bit pretentious, because that’s always chic. Being literary and pretentious isn’t necessarily a negative trait, as I think I’m realizing, but using that to develop and excuse a superiority complex is obnoxious. Bonjour Tristesse is obnoxious; Stereolab is not. Huge huge huge fan, 100% going to binge their discography ASAP.

Didn't love, didn't dislike. Pretty okay

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

Krautrock, twee-pop, and 90's alternative sounds collide on Emperor Tomato Ketchup. I'm not very familiar with Stereolab, but this was a fantastic (re?)introduction. "Olv 26" sounds like if Nico became the vocalist for Kraftwerk. "The Noise of Carpet" was a burst of energy I wasn't expecting! So many cool electronic additions elevate songs without being distracting. It feels so far ahead of its time, and the variety of styles Stereolab does well is impressive!

I was 5 minutes into the first track, reading an article about 1970s 'warm' hatchbacks, when I realised I had lost interest and wasn't listening any more. Track 2 is very '60s French Rock' and not in a good way. Same for 3... When was this recorded? 1996? Really? Track 4... now I am just irritated. Enough. 1/5.

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 record invokes anxiety, but it’s still nice to listen to.

Background music.

Finalmente un po' di elettronica, purtroppo un album un po' sciapo.

This really reminds me of Astrud Gilberto vocally throughout the record, which was cool to hear, since I love her voice and singing style. It was a super goofy listen, they don't sound like they're taking themselves too seriously throughout it, and they have a heavy ass 90's tone. Not all of those are positives. Outside of the first couple of songs, nothing here really 'grabbed' me, and I can't in good conscience give this more than a 3 for that. There's not a lot of substance. Maybe because I kept thinking she was singing in French so I paid no attention to the lyrics. Still, a fun listen, and not Britpop for once. Which is surprising for an album from 1996.

An Album I honestly would never have expected to be considering my thoughts on as much as I did, but took me a while to decide how I felt about. For something labeled as indie rock it is not exactly what I had in mind on my first listen but I had high hopes, my first listen had me a bit uncertain at first but with a pretty positive final impression with the last few tracks. subsequent listens really had me growing in appreciation for this one with a better understand of what to expect. Definitely not perfect and one that I would imagine leaves a pretty strong positive or negative reaction. I would say the middle chunk is the weakest seciton of the album

Strong start that tapers off around the halfway to three quarter runtime. I enjoyed it but found it overstayed its welcome. The album title sounds funny and I have nothing else to say about this.

14 year old me would have ADORED this album. And usually that would rub me the wrong way, I ate so much of this type of shit up as a teen that as an adult I usually just find it tacky. This is kitsch though, in the best way possible, I enjoyed the vast majority of the tracks and will be returning, with a likely high score next time. 8/10

Two albums in a row that my first thought was about video game soundtracks. Honestly most of these songs sound like the Sims 2 soundtrack. I have no strong feelings on this album except that I think this would have been better as an instrumental and maybe the second half of the album is better than the first. But if you asked me to hum a single track from this or you'd kill me if I can't, please just give me a shovel. I gave it multiple listens and it didn't stick with me and I found myself reaching for the skip button as a lot of songs here seem to really unwind and spin out rather than just end. Not offensively bad, just boring. Highlights: Monster Sacre

The way that they incorporate various contemporary elements was interesting for the first half of the first song, but got really old really quickly.

Complete (Good working music)

Wanted to love this so bad. Feels a little dull and dragging at times. Love anonymous collective though. Gonna give a couple more tries probably

Album 737 of 1001 Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996) Rating : 2 / 5 Blend experimental pop, post-rock, and electronica. They can finish experimenting and get back to me when they figure it out.

positiv overraskelse, gode vibes

Har længe gerne villet høre den her men bare aldrig fået det gjort, det var jo vildt fedt! Groovy og underligt

Happy music!

Full bops

Love you mom! You’re favorite album is here

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.

Estuvo bien. Más largo de lo que debería o, en realidad, de lo que mantuvo mi atención.

I have now listened to this before I die. And I’ll never listen to it again.

Some good and some eh.

Thoughts before listening: This album got a lot of press in the music magazines I grew up reading, but its not something I have ever listened to. I feel like this is indie rock with techno beats...maybe something like that? I don't really know. Review: So I wasn't far off on my guess for this one, but its not really "techno". This is poppy indie rock with a lot of varying influences thrown into the mix and quite a bit of experimental krautrock-style sounds. Some songs are in French and give off a bit of a Serge Gainsbourg style vibe. I prefer the more straightforward alt/indie rock songs like "Metronomic Underground" and "The Noise of Carpet". This is a 3-star album.

A bit crappy.

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

Not their best but pretty damn great.

After a first listen, I'm not super impressed by this, but I do see the appeal. Somehow, I'm not too interested in all those rock pop albums that use a bit of electronica to spice things up. What was nice in the 1990s didn't stand the test of time that much.

I was expecting not to like it but really enjoyed it. Definitely think it'll grow on me more with additional listens as well. Rating: 4.1

Groupe inconnu. Les morceaux sont longs, et très répétitifs. Je les trouve peu intéressants. L'écoute n'est pas désagréable, mais aucun morceau ne m'a accroché. Je ne l'écouterais pas une seconde fois. =>2/5

Some OG shit. In a class of their own before being a 'French' band was cool.

Well, I don’t know what to do with that. Consistently interesting, and all over the place.

Great find. Love the music. I feel the lyrics let the album down in a way.

I really enjoyed this!!

Schwache zwei Sterne, sehr langweilig und für mich klingt es so, als würde die Sängerin absichtlich schief singen

# 439 : I can listen to it, but it's not real good. It was a chore to listen to and so repetitive, but maybe that's the genre? Maybe I'm just old but I have never really been able to get into electronic music. Honourable Mention : The Noise of Carpet

Even though every streaming platform thinks I should love Stereolab, I find them irritating despite how accomplished and dedicated they are. Their Mid Century Modern aesthetic I find cold and their political stance feels bookish.

Pretty damn good. Definitely likely a grower. On the higher end of a 3

4 more songs after this one, and then I can move on. I didn't really need to hear this album before I die. But at least it's not Eminem?

Extrem nices und entspanntes Album

What an interesting album lol This was a word band but it was kinda interesting, but it just felt like someone found a MOOG machine and like made an album lol not terrible not great mid.

Not very catchy, but not very generic either, songs were far too long though.

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.

It is tedious

excellent album, just not my taste

Well, not sure what i was expecting but it wasn't this! It was quite a revelation not being the sort of music I would listen to, I'm pleased to say I really enjoyed this album. I will listen to more!

Pretty enjoyable. I liked it.

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

I started off being into this album, enjoying the beat-building rides of both Metronomic Underground and Cybele's Reverie. Then I found myself getting bored with the middle songs. And in the back third there wasn't really song that grabbed my attention other than the title track. Even on a second listen, it didn't improve much in my eyes. Probably would score this one as a low 3. Just wasn't totally feeling it.

I've listened to this probably 3-4 times now and for whatever reason (either due to work or something about the album itself) I've been unable to really focus at any point to the individual songs here. My gut feel is that this was an enjoyable, if not entirely captivating album. At no point was I turned away by it, and a few times I found myself tapping or bobbing along. So although I can't give any interesting thoughts or notes to support, this is a 4 in my mind.

Electro groooooove. This one had me in the pocket all the way through. I bet Kevin likes this cause it's French.

What in the absolute surprise of an album was that? Crazy chill French electronic music is right up my alley. I liked how it was in some English and some French as well. Some of the effects used in this were so unique an cool, specifically the start of Motoroller Scalatron. I could see this in the right situation being a 5 but I think for now it just missed out but is still a very high 4

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

The most annoying and repetitive album I've listened to This got right on my tits 1 ⭐️

May have been put off on the first track, will give it more time and review again.

This is terrible. Got half way through it. 1 star.

Not annoying, but I just couldn’t get into it and it seemed kind of repetitive.

not bad but not for me

Emperor Tomato Ketchup. lol The 90s were full of interesting random lyrics. Really broke the mold there as far as what was accepted in lyrics. Either way I don't know if i know these guys. But excited for a mid 90s album! The picture of the band on Spotify is hot, none of the girls are wearing bras :P. I've really like what I heard today. I only got to track 7 here at work but I'll listen to the rest and report back tomorrow.

Electronica overlayed with French-fairy lyrics. Most of it is happening at the same pace — and it relies too much on the notion of melody as rhythm. It’s danceable, but it’s hard to take it seriously musically. A lot of noodling around for effect. 2

No recuerdo qué disco había escuchado de Stereolab pero sí que me había gustado. Pero curiosamente este no me encantó. Eso de estar repitiendo ruiditos y sonidos extraños me exaspera. No creo que sea un mal album pero no fui fan y no lo volveré a escuchar.

Well i guessed it was french

This album has an incredibly solid first half that sort of loses its way a bit towards the end before the final two songs really pick things back up again. Definitely enjoyed it, will likely enjoy it even more upon repeated listens.

I quite liked this. Indie vibes, quite chill, not as electronic as you might think from other reviews with strings, drums and guitars in the mix. This will not change your life, but could be some ok background lazing by the pool. I give it a three.