Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup

Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996) is milestone in Stereolab's career, although they have kept releasing great music after that. The record has a unique feel, which effectively fuses post-My Bloody Valentine post-indie sound with the post-modernist pop mentality of the mid-nineties on one hand and the nascent loungecore movement (mixing modern electronic genres with space age pop) on the other. "Metronomic Underground" enters with its funky hip hop beat, as the hypnotic bassline comes in and layers of instruments and vocals are accumulating on top of the groove, it's obvious Stereolab has reached new heights in their minimalist drone-rock leanings. But the pop songs, such as string-laden "Cybele's Reverie", Kraftwerkian "Les Yper Sound", groovy "Spark Plug", punkish "Noise of Carpet", the peppy title track and sublime, beautiful heavenly "Slow Fast Hazel"; are what make ETK the great album. The sharp pop sensibility is aided by a healthy dose of experimentation, like the jazz-rock groove of "Percolator" in 5/4 time, minimalist "Tomorrow Is Already Here" and the buzzing psych-electro-kraut jam feel of "OLV 26". Stylistically there's lots of variety, but also a necessary sense of concision as the album has 13 tracks taking up 57 minutes in t0tal. Here Stereolab delivers some of the most timeless beautiful and captivating music ever, in which brevity is the soul of wit. A must-have.