NMT: Stereolab's 'Not Music'

The last Stereolab album I had was Emperor Tomato Ketchup and it served up at least a few months of repeated listening when I first discovered it my freshman year of college. That was an amazing album that I would rate at about a 95%, so, with my limited knowledge of the rest of their work, that album will be my reference. Now I know this album is made up from the remainders of the recordings used to make 2008's Chemical Chords, but I'm aiming to look at this objectively as its own album.

Now I do like the general whimsical quality of their more standard tracks, I do get a little bored with the opening track, 'Everybody's Weird Except Me'. While I like Stereolab a lot already, hearing a song that sounds like their sound generalized and homogenized down into an odd summary of the sound just doesn't work for me. It sounds more like someone trying to describe their sound, than it actually sounding like them.

Moving past the negative part, the entire album is not at all in line with this.The second track is a bit tame until it evolves at the break down with a bit of Herbie Hancock-esque funky instrumentation. This is when the album really started to grab my attention a bit more. 'Silver Sands' is another hi-light of the album embracing a bit more experimental sound for them with some thumping synths sounding like it'd be at home in a TRON landscape.

While the album itself is definitely a pleasant listen, I have just had a hard time being 'wowed' by it. It has its high points that you would likely be different than what I notice, but as far as having a funkier, jazzier pop album to listen to when you're not really paying attention, you could do better and listen to one of their older albums. Its still enjoyable, but leaves me feeling a bit unfulfilled.

Stereolab's Not Music-> 3.4/5

But who knows, with the way things go for me, I could see myself coming back to this entry and adding that after numerous listens I realized my previous feelings were completely unfounded. Meh.