Emperor Tomato Ketchup

There are moments where this sounds like modern, electronic, (French?) Bossa Nova and it's absolutely brilliant... and then there are other moments I can't remember at all. But nothing I totally hated. On balance, I think that means this is a solid 3.5 for me and since their catalog seems to lean into Bossa Nova adjacent vibes, I'm willing to round up.

Very cool

This is the future we were promised.

No sé por qué pateé escuchar este álbum siendo que es una maravilla. Me gustó muchísimo y es un álbum que escucharía habitualmente. Esa vibra francesa combinada con ese sonido extravagante me encantaron.

3.5 ближе до 4. Класичний альбом від класичного гурту. Люблю їх.

Ein überambitioniertes, aber oft sperriges Album. Der Mix aus Experimental‑Pop, Post‑Rock und Krautrock‑Einflüssen erzeugt zwar eine eigenwillige, hypnotische Atmosphäre, wirkt jedoch stellenweise überladen und wenig zugänglich.

I found a lot of elements here very interesting and different, but not enough to really want to engage with this much more.

I like this but i dont know why. I cant list anything about it that i like, bit i like it

Firstly, great album name. I chuckled.
Secondly, this record sounded as interesting as the name, in the same weird way. Good weird though. I enjoyed listening to this, even though I don't really like french language in music, and I didn't really like it in the french songs on here either. But the songs were pretty fun and quite distinct from other things on this list.

It's funny how you can know you like a lot of the things a particular group likes but not really like their take on it. I wanted to like Stereolab in the 90s for the shared reference points and the peer pressure from people cooler than me, who were never done telling you how amazing they were. But they've just always sounded a bit joyless and dull to me.

I wish I liked it more.

I’m at a 3.5 that I’ll bump up to a 4.

I don’t really know what to make of that as a cohesive album experience. I mean, honestly, it’s not even really THAT cohesive. I’m not sure that’s the point, nor am I sure that matters too much. Look at the name of the band: “Stereolab”, and I’d put the heavy emphasis on the “lab” there. This is experimental rock, one far more reminiscent of the alt-rock of the era, yet bringing in lots of extra bass, percussion & synths to coat it in a way that jumps all over the place. This album never settles into a definitive style, going from weird Portal 2-esque vibes, to Kraftwerk / Daft Punk-ish tones, to a sort of Katamari Damacy energy, and that’s just from the instrumentals. Vocally, our lead singer here shifts from French to English on a dime, and I like how she sounds in both languages, especially in French. Lyrically, a lot of these tracks have a slight political lean; sometimes explicit, & sometimes far more subtle. The constant shift in styles & languages happening throughout the album is pretty noticeable, but for the most part, they handle all the different combinations well. When this album finds a captivating spot to sit in, I think it’s pretty engaging, in a sort of hypnotic way that’s hard to explain but easy to feel.

I think this album just pulls the listener out of that hypnotic space too often for it to feel consistently good though, and that’s where my big disconnect with the album lies. These are tracks rooted in repetition to find that hypnotic effect, but once you start to feel that hypnosis fade away, the tracks lose a luster in a way that doesn’t fully take you out of it, but leaves you ready for the next track sooner than they’re anticipating. I think the pacing of this album would be improved if a lot of these tracks got cut down by a minute, in order to minimize the loss of that hypnotic feel. A few tracks can’t really be salvaged from that repetition though; I think “Emperor Tomato Ketchup”, “Motoroller Scalatron” & “Anonymous Collective” suffer from it the worst. They’re not bad, but I got pulled out way too quickly.

The best tracks on this album either know how to keep that repetition entertaining (like “Metronomic Underground” & its sense of progression), avoid the repetition entirely (“Cybele’s Reverie” rules), find a really nice vibe to sit in where the soundscapes keep you engaged no matter what (“Spark Plug” & “The Noise of Carpet” apply here), or just find a really compelling subject matter (“Monstre Sacre” & its take on grief, & “Slow Fast Hazel” with its dismissal of eternity as paradise). Ultimately, the reason I’m bumping this up to a 4 is because other than the 3 “unsalvagable” tracks I mentioned, I think the rest of the album sounds good, and with tweaks to their length, they’d be great.

This isn’t an album that’ll work well for everyone, and it certainly lost me at points. It’s far from boring, since it’s constantly doing something new, but one’s enjoyment will come from how captivating these soundscapes feel to their ears. That’s true for every album, but it feels especially true for something that’s blended as weirdly as this one is. I’m meeting it with a 3.5 that I’ll bump up to a 4, since I think the more experimental nature appeals to my sensibilities, but I can’t blame anyone for going as low as a 2 if it just doesn’t click or if it comes across as too much background noise. I think it’s too “flawed” to reach a 5, but if someone gets there, more power to them. Regardless, I enjoyed it, flaws & all. I dunno if it NEEDS to be on the list, but I’m not complaining that it’s here.

Zanimljiv i prijatan album u nekom svom fazonu, dosta odskače od praktično svih prethodnih.

This was diverse, unique. Sounded fresh and unlike other alt rock of the era. 3*, not every song was great.

I had no idea what to expect, as Stereolab is one of those bands I've managed to avoid entirely from a lack of exposure. What a pleasant surprise! It almost felt like getting a warm hug from the concept of 1996.

This did not grab me, and I don't think I like Stereolab much.

Wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did. Supremely cool.

4/5

Completely unaware of this one. It's alright, but just kinda meh.

A pretty lackluster and plain album. Pleasant enough while it's on but few tracks to keep me engaged nor coming back. 2.5/5 -> 3/5

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